


The First Years are Distracted

by Ethanol



Series: μ's Love Dramatic [1]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Awkward, Cheeks - Freeform, F/F, Friends(?), Hair, Probably not for a while, Somebody Save Them, Touching, eventually, it's my first love live fic, what have I made
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22857490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ethanol/pseuds/Ethanol
Summary: The first years need help.
Relationships: Koizumi Hanayo/Nishikino Maki
Series: μ's Love Dramatic [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1711021
Comments: 19
Kudos: 46





	1. Hanayo Can't Help But Look

**Author's Note:**

> hey whattup it's me yo boy
> 
> this is a really short fic (my first fic) about love live and my 2 favorite characters please let me know what you think if they seem out of character dont hurt me ill try to be better next time

Hanayo had been sneaking glances at Maki's way for the past few minutes now, peering over the idol magazine clutched between trembling hands as murky purple stared longingly at their desire. She quietly hoped the woman across the table didn't notice her gaze for just a moment longer. The brunette hoped to prolong her thoughts that she knew the redhead would think was definitely weird.

A loud cough snapped her to attention, nearly ripping the magazine in half as her eyes darted to the source of the noise.

"What is it?" Maki's voice was stern, resting the book she had been reading down on the table, her other hand idly twirling a strand of flowing scarlet hair. "You've been staring for a while now."

Hanayo squeaked, blood rushing to her cheeks in embarrassment for being caught. And she thought she was acting all sneaky about it, too. "I-I didn't mean to! I j-just... Uh..." Her words died beneath her breath. There was no way out of this, unless she'd either tell the truth or jump out of the club room's only window.

Her eyes glanced to the window in question, seriously deliberating the option for just a moment before Maki spoke up once more.

"You just... What?" Seeing her friend visibly shrink on her seat, Maki breathed out a soft sigh, breaking her gaze to a random spot on the wall. "I'm not mad. Just tell me what's wrong, Hanayo."

Her voice, calmer and more soothing, coaxed the brunette to look up at her fellow first year, a faint dust of red over her cheeks. _Maki-chan's still embarrassed with soft moments like this,_ Hanayo thought, a shy smile breaking out her nervous face. Then a finger went back to twirl at those mesmerizing locks of vibrant red.

"Your hair..." Hanayo said, distracted by the flawless finger dancing around a sea of red. A red that she was sure on her face when she realized what she just said.

"Huh? My hair?" Maki repeated in confusion, combing a hand through her hair before examining it with suspicion. "Is there something in my hair?"

"N-no!" Hanayo shook her head vigorously in response, growing more embarrassed at every passing second. The door is too far, the window is her only option of escape now. "Your hair is f-fine, Maki-chan." _Fine_ was an understatement. For the past week now, Hanayo had realized she was distracted in class. As every lecture droned on, she found her gaze wandering to a specific red-haired girl focused at her seat. But it wasn't just that girl she found herself captured by.

"So, what's the matter?" Maki's voice brought her out of her thoughts, an eyebrow quirked in her direction. She realized she didn't give a proper answer. _Can_ she give her a proper answer? Maybe she could lie and say the redhead's hair looks shinier than usual. _Ah!, but that'd make her think I've been staring at her hair all the time!_

Hanayo panicked internally, in fear of the embarrassment when Maki will find out that for the past week, she's been thinking about nothing but Maki's hair. How it glistens in the afternoon glow, how she wants to try touching it, comb her own fingers down those scarlet locks, and how her-

"Hanayo?" Busied by her own thoughts, the brunette didn't notice Maki had stepped around the table, sitting down on the chair next to hers. Vibrant eyes staring her down. Her eyes were another thing she had found herself captured by, but the very thought of maintaining eye contact with anybody was too nerve wracking.

But it's too late. Her gaze couldn't tear itself away from those eyes. In the silence Hanayo didn't know was filling the room, she took in more about her features. How each strand of hair was kept neatly in place, the flawless skin and white complexion of her face, the faint hint of red on her cheeks, and lastly the ghost of a smile on her lips, dancing precariously between an understanding smile and an annoyed frown.

"I-It's nothing..." She tried to brush it aside, but the hard sigh was a sign that Maki wasn't going to let this go that easily. Resigning herself to fate, Hanayo braced herself before speaking, small hands fisting the cloth of her skirt.

"C-Can I ask you a question, Maki-chan?!"

The sudden outburst caused both to flinch in surprise, the redhead drawing away slightly. the silence was deafening. She didn't know why. What was happening? _Somebody save me!_

"I uh... Sure, I guess?" Maki replied, her tone one of confusion and if Hanayo were to look up at the floor, she'd see the mix of worry on her friend's face. But the brunette's thoughts were busy trying to string up a coherent question to ask aloud. Every second was more and more doubt on her mind. How can she phrase it? Will it sound weird? What was she asking in the first place? She knew if she took any longer, she'd manage to convince herself to keep quiet and let the silence swallow her whole. Or perhaps execute the backup plan of running headfirst out the window.

Shaking her head with such intensity that made Maki begin to speak up, Hanayo beat her to the punch. Her eyes closed; fists balled in her skirt before finally looking up at Maki.

"C-Can I touch your hair?!"

Silence.

A few moments passed, laden heavily with silence.

And then red. Specifically on Maki's face.

"E-eh?!"


	2. Maki Has Reached Her Insanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She had to be insane, she HAD to. There was no other reason.
> 
> Yeah, definitely no other reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo whattup it me again
> 
> lemme know if anything seems wrong. if it's ooc or stuff like that
> 
> it's still my first love live fic don't hurt me pls

About two weeks ago, a realization dawned on Maki. 

_I've lost my mind._

A high school girl's mind tends to send her words into a hyperbole, but Maki Nishikino saw herself as more level-headed and logical for girls her age. At least, more tame than people like Rin, who seemed to be a boundless ball of energy.

So to chalk up that her mind has flew out the window would be a cause for concern, she decided.

The reason? She toiled around the memories in her head for the first signs of this madness, all threads of inspection leading to one moment during lunch.

As if on cue in some cliche anime, the memory played perfectly in her head, reminiscing every detail that she'd never knew would imprint itself into her mind.

'Finally, lunch time!' Rin rose from her seat the moment the teacher was out the door, quickly pushing two desks adjacent to the redhead's together, propping herself down on a chair in one fluid motion. 'Rin skipped breakfast this morning, so I'm starving, nya!' Maki simply rolled her eyes at the cat-like grin on the ginger's face, reaching down at her bag to pull out her own boxed lunch before scanning the room for their usual third member to join them.

Her eyes didn't need to search far, her gaze quickly locking on the pair of murky purple in front of her desk.

'T-today's lesson was pretty hard, huh?' Hanayo spoke with a stutter, but with a gentle smile as she took the third and final chair around the three tables pushed together. The three would always have lunch together ever since forming μ's and Maki finally opened up to the group after having _'an angsty teen episode'_ as how Nico crudely labeled.

'It was all right, I guess,' she responded with a dainty shrug, setting her lunch on the table as the others did the same.

Well, _other._ Maki's eyes wandered to Rin's space on the desks and took notice on how empty it was and how her hands remained stationary. Violet eyes traveled up to see her gaze eagerly fixed on Hanayo.

'You packed two lunches today?' Maki found herself asking. Hanayo laughed meekly before pushing one of the two bento boxes towards Rin, who happily accepted with a joyous thanks. 

The redhead gave a suspicious glare at the cat-like girl, who stuck her tongue out in quick response before leaning against Hanayo's arm. 'Kayo-chin! Maki-chan's feeling jealous that she's feeling left out, nya.' 

'I am not!' Maki snapped, a hand reaching up to twirl a stray curl of her hair, eyes darting away at the two first years. 'Rin, if you're giving Hanayo trouble in the morning to make two-' her scolding words were quickly cut off by a squeak. Maki knew Rin wouldn't be able to make such a high pitched noise, so she reckoned it was the brunette who interjected, her eyes still looking away. 

'A-ah, Rin-chan didn't mean to give any trouble- T-that is! There was no trouble at all, Maki-chan!' Hanayo sputtered out, fidgeting in her seat as Rin moved away back to her side of the desk, 'I made a little too much last night and when I mentioned it to Rin, she asked if she could have some.'

Rin nodded as if to support her best friend's words. "Rin couldn't wait for Kayo-chin's cooking, so she stayed up late thinking about it and overslept!" 

"That's why you missed breakfast?!" Maki asked, incredulous. Her reply was only a sly grin before Rin moved to open the boxed lunch. 'Enough talk, nya! Rin's starving!' 

The redhead opened her mouth to persist but an audible grumble caught her off, turning her attention to the source: An embarrassed Hanayo with her gaze down at herself. She laughed brokenly, slow hands reaching for chopsticks. 'A-haha...' 

Maki didn't know if she should feel guilty, or laugh at the flush of red that dominated the brunette's face, but the knowing grin from a certain finger at the corner of her eye made her decide on neither option, huffing out a sigh before turning her attention to her own lunch. 'Whatever.' 

After saying quick words of thanks, the three began their long awaited lunch. Maki ate at a tempered pace, silently giving her thanks to the household chefs for today's lunch. Meanwhile Rin tore into her lunch with a less-than-graceful manner unbefitting of a maiden, or a human being for that matter. 

At least Hanayo was the same as always, with a look of pure bliss as she ate slow but large bits of white rice, savoring each bite with an elated expression, her eyes closed.

It was a sight Maki found herself taking an odd interest of, the movements of her chopsticks slowing as her eyes took in every movement of Hanayo. She found herself doing this two, maybe three days ago. _This wasn't staring,_ she tried to convince herself at first. _Just curiously looking at how someone can be so happy to eat white rice and look so cute doing-_

Who was she kidding, she was definitely staring.

And this was a fact Rin knew, much to the redhead's dismay. She would have to now try not to get caught by Hanayo's eyes _and_ shrug off the mischievous smirk splitting the ginger's face.

'Ah,' A content sigh brought Maki from the despaired train of thought, 'Today's rice is warm and fluffy too~' She brought a hand to cup her cheek, relishing in the moment of pure happiness that occurred every meal. 

Each slow moment she made, Maki followed, try as she might to try not to. But, her eyes seemed to hone in on a specific area recently.

As Hanayo chewed, stuffing herself more with rice, the soft movements keep her gaze trained curiously, faint red dusting flawless skin as she ate blissfully. The table separated them, but Maki felt close enough to just reach out, brush Hanayo's hand away to use her own and feel what was sure to feel warm and fluffy, akin to the characteristics of the brunette's perfect rice. Maybe that's why they're so-

'Maki-chan?' The sudden voice broke out a stuttered reply on reflex, her eyes refocusing to find curious murky purple staring up at her. 'A-are you not hungry?' 

Maki looked down, noticing the fact that she had stopped her own movements, parting her lips to release the tips of chopsticks trapped between her teeth. She was... gnawing on them?

Her cheeks flared up in an instant, snapping her face away from the other two before taking clumsy bites from her lunch. 'I-It's nothing! Just thinking, that's a-all!' Did she sound convincing? She didn't care, it was that or come up with a lame excuse before running out the door.

'O-oh... Maybe you're tired? It must be hard trying to compose a new song for our next live, huh?' Hanayo said with a nervous laugh, 'Y-you should let us know if you're having trouble instead of pushing yourself, Maki-chan.' Hanayo almost sounded guilty, her hands stopped in their previous happiness, her eyes upturned towards the redhead, who stole a moment's glance before keeping her gaze away. Anymore and she'd-

Maki shook her head. 'I-it's uh... I'm fine, Hanayo. D-don't worry,' she stuttered out lamely, focusing herself on the motions of eating and ignoring how hot her face felt.

Hanayo gave a small nod before returning to her own lunch, the tension in the air quickly ignored as she tasted more of her white rice. Maki breathed a quiet sigh of relief at how the mood quickly lightened as the brunette returned to making contented noises as she ate.

She was, however, feeling herself scowl at the amused grin she _knew_ was on Rin's face, cleverly hidden between wolfing down her lunch.

Weeks after and the revelation came, Maki groaned against her desk. _Of all the things to think about, it's-_

A bubbly giggle knitted Maki's eyebrows against the wooden surface, not even bothering to lift her head to glare at the source. 

"Maki-chan~" Rin's voice was a sing-song. The redhead was a mental inch away from strangling her fellow group member. Deciding against it for good reason, she only groaned out a reply, hoping it conveyed enough of her emotion of wanting the ginger to leave her alone.

However, Rin only moved closer, a hushed voice nearing where her ears would be. 

"Warm and fluffy cheeks, nya?~" 

"Shut up!" Maki yelled, shooting her head up. Rin couldn't hold it in, laughing at how she couldn't tell Maki's hair and her face apart. Not with how impossibly red both were.


	3. The First Years are Troubled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Somebody save me." -Makipana

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what is even happening
> 
> i write these at 2-4am 
> 
> i just wake up and edit it a bit then post 
> 
> but enjoy

They both sat in the clubroom, neither daring to breathe out a sound to challenge the tense silence that followed Maki's noise of confusion.

_My hair..._ She replayed Hanayo's words over once more, each reiteration causing her fingers to fuss with the strand of lively red on her shoulder. She sucked in a breath in an attempt to speak, but the shrill squeak from across the table halted any more progress on that endeavor.

Maki knew that Hanayo was someone who'd prefer to be quiet rather than to voice out a complaint or desire, her shy and cautious nature prevented the brunette in trying to do anything so daring. Through being a school idol has indeed helped her break out of her shell, the redhead supposed that some habits die hard. Even she could attest to that much.

So to hear her, just seconds ago, build up enough of herself to ask something from the left field was an outcome Maki never expected. She was sure it would be something related to their new song, or perhaps their recent lessons in class. But never- _this._

Maki was too busy swimming in her own thoughts to notice that she wasn’t giving the brunette an answer. She returned to reality due to a sudden noise from Hanayo. Vivid violet meeting murky purple, glassy with embarrassed tears. It was only a second after that Maki noticed her hurriedly shoving her notebooks and pencils in her bag.

"I-I uh... I'm sorry for asking something so w-weird!" Hanayo stuttered, hitting her foot against her chair as she shot up from her seat. "I'll j-just... just go..."

Stepping behind the chair and pushing it back beneath the table, she started at the door, locking gazes for one more moment before fixing her gaze firmly on the ground.

As if tearing away from her gaze broke a silent spell, Maki felt herself able to move again, and in a second she stood up from her chair, meeting Hanayo just a few steps away from the clubroom door.

"M-Maki-chan?" Muttering her name in a hesitant whisper, Hanayo chanced a glance up at the figure now in front of her. Maki didn't meet her eyes, picking a spot on the floor near the brunette's feet as she felt her face warm up. Why was she so embarrassed? _What is this situation?!_

Maki wanted this spot in the floor to swallow her hole. It would be an acceptable escape from how terribly awkward she was acting.

After one painful moment of more deafening silence, she saw Hanayo's feet fidget in place before stepping away in the direction of the door.

Maki didn't know why she called out to her at that moment, or why she reached out and grabbed the first thing she could to keep Hanayo there, but it had happened, and the sound of her raised voice echoed through the room, and she became clearly conscious of how warm Hanayo's skin felt against her grip.

Maki heard her name in a strangled breath, and she swallowed a lump in her throat to reply, her own voice not any more confident, "H-Hanayo. Y-"

Before she could, a stream of broken words poured from the brunette, for a good moment before coherent words followed through. "Y-you don't have to say y-yes, Maki-chan! ...Just, don't mind m-me, okay...?" The last word died in her uncertainty. Uncertain of what? Maki wasn't sure.

She decided to meet Hanayo's eyes, finding a pair of purple that expressed an unknown fear and confusion as they locked gazes. A fear of rejection and a confusion on why Maki's still dragging this out rather than refusing initially then and there.

Maki didn't know why such a simple day ended up _like this._ Truth be told, the past few weeks haven't been so simple. Not since _that_ day, made even worse with realization that dawned on her. _Maybe... Perhaps..._

Swallowing down part embarrassment and part hesitation, Maki pushed her words slowly. "You're right. I don't have to. B-but..." Every word did nothing to help how hot her face was feeling, but before embarrassment caught up with her thinking, she continued on.

"If y-you let me do something, t-then... We can be even."

"E-even?" Hanayo repeated, her tone a clear indication of her confusion. Maki drew out a sigh, breaking away from her stare to a random set of books on the shelves, her free hand reaching up to twirl a strand of red hair. "Y-you asked if you can touch my hair, r-right?"

She didn't see, but the low hum was sure to be accompanied with a nod. Without a second more to evaluate her words, she continued.

"If you l-let me do uh... The same, then... Then, we can be e-even!" Maki forced out the last of her sentence, her face can only get so hot.

"B-but!" The sudden shout prompted Maki to face her, seeing the shorter girl curl into herself, fisting the fabric of her uniform on her chest, her words fighting to be above a whisper. "My hair isn't as s-shiny and beautiful as yours, and I can't do anything as good as you. S-so, I can't do anything to b-be even..."

For the first time in the past few minutes, Maki could feel something on her face that wasn't the radiating warmth on her cheeks. And it was a scowl.

"Hanayo!" She tightened her grip on the brunette's wrist, causing her to wince slightly, "Didn't the rest of us tell you to not think of yourself like that?! You have your own charm and things about you that are beautiful, so don't bring yourself down like this!"

"B-but..." Hanayo's words sounded guilty, quiet enough for the both of them to hear. "Compared to Maki-chan, I'm j-just so boring..." She laughed brokenly, unable to meet Maki's gaze, ashamed.

However, the redhead only responded with more fervor, stepping closer. "So what if you're nothing like me? That's perfectly fine! That's exactly what I li-" Maki stopped herself, her cheeks flaring up at the near slip up she narrowly avoided. What was she going to admit, she wondered. Clearing her throat, she decided to shelf the thought in favor of keeping her momentum. "A-and I'm the one who's going to choose anyway, so you can't tell me what's even or not!"

"A-ah?" Letting out a noise of confusion, Hanayo nodded slowly after a moment. Maki thought this was enough of a confirmation.

"So uh... D-do you agree?" She asked, and another noise, this time of confirmation squeaked from the brunette.

"T-then..." Of all the times, the embarrassment finally caught up to Maki. She felt her mouth go dry, and the next string of words died in her throat, only letting out a stutter before nothing else would follow. _Like hell I'm going to let all that talk be for nothing!_ Fanning new flames beneath herself, Maki pushed out the first thing she could.

"...Y-your cheeks."

"My... cheeks?"

Maki nodded, scratching her own cheeks, no doubt an indiscernible red from her hair. "Y-yeah... If you can touch my hair, then I can touch your cheeks..."

This was without a doubt, Maki thought, the worse deal she's ever heard. She was thankful they were the only ones in the room, and everyone was busy with either preparing for their next live show or student council.

Hanayo brought her free hand to her face, gingerly setting her fingers on her right cheek, then looking up to Maki. Then, her cheeks flushed red, registering the redhead's words. "Uweh?!"

A string of stuttered words followed, none coherent enough to form a sentence. Maki frowned at her in response, closing the gap once more with a testing step. "Is that a no, Hanayo?"

All the brunette's words halted, she opened her mouth to speak, but didn't trust her words right now, only with a swift shake of her head. Maki breathed out a sigh of relief, then froze up at the realization on what's going to happen next.

There was a mixture of anticipation, fear, excitement and a whole lot of embarrassment whirling inside Maki, inching closer as she lifted a hand cautiously. "T-then... please excuse me."

Hanayo waited with bated breath, shutting her eyes when Maki's hand hovered in front of her face.

Murky purple peered open after a moment when she felt nothing touch her, finding a focused expression behind long, elegant fingers,

"What are you w-waiting for?"

"H-huh?!” The brunette swallowed, her voice raising to a nervous octave. "A-at the same time?!"

"Well... Y-yeah. It would be weird if it'd just be me, right?" Maki reasoned like the situation wasn't any at all bizarre. Hanayo stared for a moment, before breaking into a fit of giggles. A scowl dug itself on Maki's face but found herself laughing along with her after a while. Their laughs finally dissipating the tension in the room.

"Oh Gods, Maki-chan." Hanayo hummed out, her laughter dying down, "S-sure. Together..."

Maki nodded, raising her hand up once more towards the other, hovering just in front while waiting for her to do the same. Nodding in return, Hanayo cautiously moved her hand up, brushing past the sleeve of Maki's uniform, stopping just shy from where her red hair ended.

Neither pressed onwards, and Maki felt her fingers twitch at the standoff she found herself in. She found Hanayo's gaze, staring directly at her rather than the fiery red she thought caught her interest. It came to her attention how the gap between them was practically nonexistent, it was her best guess on who stepped closer.

"M-Maki-chan..." She called out in a breathless whisper, and it sent shivers up Maki's spine, her voice working helplessly to reply. In the end, her own was just as desperate.

"Hanayo..." Her words barely above a mutter, her hand moved to cup her cheek, and she felt a hand trail further up her arm, inching closer to their desire.

Their faces drew closer, their breath mingling in the middle. Hanayo's lips parted to speak but nothing came out, and Maki found herself eager to fill that gap.

Suddenly, the door swung open, hitting the nearest shelf with a crash. "Sorry Rin took so long, nya! Rin had to bring some handouts to the teacher and- And uh..." Rin's initial reaction was pure bafflement, taking in the sight she walked in on.

Hanayo, with one hand trapped in Maki's grip, the other snaked up the redhead's arm. Then Maki, her hand gripping the brunette's wrist, her other a mere inch away from the other's cheek.

What grabbed Rin's attention most, however, was how _impossibly_ close their faces were, and how their gazes were locked in a dreamlike state before both were staring at the intruding ginger, both pale in horror.

Nobody dared move at first. Maki and Hanayo didn't even dare even move the air with their breath. Rin meanwhile snapped out of her shock, now eyeing the two with a confused smile. "What's going on here, nya?"

"N-n-nothing at all!" All of a sudden, Hanayo squeaked, darting past Maki and Rin in an instant and bolting out the open door. Rin looked back to the spot her best friend was in the room, but Maki remained unmoving, her face flushed and pale.

Seeing this reaction, Rin couldn't help the grin coming onto her face. " _So,_ Maki-chan~," She pawed at the air, stepping over to Maki, who was akin a statue at this point. "Couldn't help yourself huh, nya?~"

"...It's wasn't like that." Maki spoke barely for Rin to hear. The ginger expected a fevered denial, anything to tease her back with.

She didn't expect Maki to cup her face with both hands, then slamming her head face-first against the table.

"Ah! Maki-chan?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it too ooc? let me know what you think
> 
> please
> 
> the lack of feedback scares me


	4. Rin is in Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin is in great pain, please help Rin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ey yo whattup
> 
> this never ending disaster party's just starting
> 
> lemme know what you think
> 
> thnk u

"So," Nico started, her lips a hard line as she looked upon the sight in front of her, "What's with those two?"

Rin gave a nervous laugh in response, shrugging her shoulders as she surveyed the two other first years on the other side of the roof. From the safety of the shade, she saw how Maki and Hanayo absolutely _refused_ to look at each other, often falling out of step during practice and receiving a scolding remark from Umi or Eli.

Someone brought up the possibility of them coming down with a fever with how flushed their faces were, but Nico wasn't buying it, and Rin _knew_ what was going on.

"Is that why you dragged Rin all the way over here, nya?" She threw her hands over behind her head, feigning ignorance to the shorter girl's suspicions, "Rin thought you were going to talk about something exciting."

Nico's eye twitched, her fists planted firmly against her hips as she glared up at the ginger. "Are you seeing this?!" She jutted a hand two the distracted duo before continuing, "They're disturbing practice! And it's a pain to see them acting so... So!"

"Awkward," both Rin and Nico spoke at the same time, one a tone of exasperation and another tone of resignation, as if she's had to go through this situation on a daily basis. Well, it was because Rin _did._

"Ah! So, you do know something!" Nico's voice was accusatory now, facing up at Rin, "Spill it!"

Rin blew a raspberry in response, taking long strides away from Nico and returning to practice, ignoring the whining retorts from the raven-haired idol.

Finally away from the scrutiny of Nico's gaze, Rin allowed herself to deflate the air she found herself holding in until now, in the form of a long but quiet sigh. She had to admit that Nico had a point. Practice progress had been lackluster with how Maki and Hanayo seemed to be out of it the past few days, with the rest of μ's in the dark on the reason why.

Except for Rin, of course. She knew all about it.

A part of the ginger felt that it had been her fault that her two fellow first years were acting so dysfunctional. If she hadn't walked in on them doing- Well, whatever they were doing! Perhaps the two would be acting like usual.

Rin looked off to the side. That, or maybe they'd be too embarrassed to be within five meters of each other. _Ah, this is tricky, nya..._

Her feet had stopped, who knows how long she'd been still. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she started back towards the rest of the group currently practicing, only making a grand total of two steps before a hushed voice interrupted from behind her.

"What's this? Are all our first years distracted?" Nozomi's playful tone was met with Rin's surprised yell, who nearly fell from the suddenness if not for her agile movements. The third year merely giggled at her actions, arms crossed loosely below her ample chest, shimmering green eyes surveying the ginger. "We can't have that now with our next live coming up soon, y'know?"

"R-Rin isn't distracted, nya!" She quickly defended, fixing her stance as she returned the gaze with one full of suspicion, "It’s more like Rin is troubled!"

"Oh?" Nozomi hummed, leaning her torso forward, a hand reaching up to her chin, a finger tapping idly as she looked. There was a knowing smile she had on that Rin couldn't quite decipher, and often was confused by. "Troubled with how to deal with our two lovebirds over there?"

Her gaze flickered to the main practicing group on the rooftop, but Rin knew where to look in particular. To her two friends that suddenly yelped and froze in place when they accidentally bumped shoulders during a dance routine. The ginger looked away with a wince when Umi's voice quickly followed, back to Nozomi's face. An expression of shock worse itself on Rin's face when it clicked. "How did Nozomi-chan know, nya?!"

Rin asked, incredulous. The knowing smile on Nozomi's face then quirked up to the usual grin plastered on her fine features. A grin that meant nothing but mischief and the fact of _everything going as intended._ "Hm?~ About what, Rin-chan?"

The ginger's brows furrowed, confused. "About Maki-chan and Kayo-chin! Rin was sure she was the only one who-" Her hand quickly moved to slap over her mouth, but she realized too late. Rin uncovered her mouth after a moment, revealing a frown to Nozomi's wider grin. The third year could only laugh.

"Gotcha'~"

Rin grumbled, stomping her foot whilst muttering at how unfair her sub unit-mate frequently was. Her short-lived frustration subsided with Nozomi's gentle pats on her back, but with a smile that showed no guilt to what she did.

"Are ya' ready to talk to Nozomi all about it?"

Rin huffed. She planned to keep everything to herself, the thought of it being her fault the main reason for this decision. The ginger was sure that something to this degree could've happened if the two were left interrupted, but the fact that she had something to do with it, or at least, stopped _something_ from happening left the girl with a guilt and a mission to fix the issue on her own.

Nozomi took notice of Rin's conflicted eyes, and moved back with an easy smile, jutting a finger to herself. "I promise it'll be between us."

Rin looked back at her, "Really, nya?"

The purple-haired girl giggled at the reaction. "Not a soul."

"Even to Eli-chan?"

She laughed once more, nodding her head in confirmation. "Not even to Eli-chi."

Rin pursed her lips together, humming in thought before nodding silently, deciding something in her mind that Nozomi couldn't hear. _Or could_ , Rin thought. At this point she's assumed that Nozomi is a mind reader rather than a fortune reader.

"It was a few days ago, nya. Maki-chan and Kayo-chin were alone in the club room." Rin retold with repressed hand gestures as Nozomi listened with a focused look, taking in every detail of the ginger's story.

"I just walked in and saw them both doing- well, uh... something!" Nozomi gave a look. "It's true, nya! Rin doesn't know all the details, but they were about to do something."

Nozomi continued to look unconvinced, and Rin felt herself squirm beneath the gaze of those vivid emerald eyes. She heard her sigh, hands dropping from the front of her chest.

" _Rin-chan~,_ " The ginger shivered at the certain tone accompanied with her name, growing more nervous as the third year brought her hands up in a gripping manner, "Y'know what happens to little girls who lie, right?"

Slowly, her hands advanced towards Rin's chest, who spewed out a flurry of words as she feared for her safety. "R-Rin's telling the truth, Nozomi-chan! Rin promises!"

Nozomi's head shook in a matching slowness to her advancing hands, nearing their target as her grin grew wider. "There's a charm to modest sizes, don'tcha' know?" Her voice bled with impurity, and Rin felt her voice break.

"Okay, fine! Rin knows! No hugging, please!"

Rin swore she could see Nozomi click her tongue in disappointment before putting her hands down, a warm smiling replacing the look of malice that she wore mere seconds ago. "Why don't ya' tell me everything this time, 'kay?"

The ginger nodded her head begrudgingly, then revealed the fact of how she pieced together how Hanayo had a certain attraction to Maki's hair for a few weeks now from bits in their conversations when the redhead wasn't around.

"Like, Kayo-chin would bring up stuff about Maki-chan's hair a little too much, so Rin thought it was suspicious, nya! And she became a flushed mess when I asked if she liked her hair or not."

Nozomi nodded, tapping her cheek tentatively as she listened. "And what's with Maki-chan? What's her strange interest?"

"Kayo-chin's cheeks, nya." Rin said with slight amusement. It wasn't strange to think that Hanayo's cheeks were cute. Even the ginger would agree with Maki, if not for how much she's caught the redhead staring at those fluffy cheeks every moment she could.

Of course, she revealed this fact to Nozomi, who could only blink in disbelief before glancing to Maki on the roof. "Huh," she breathed out, "Didn't pin her as someone who'd be into that."

"I know, right?" Rin added with a laugh that trailed off into a tired sigh. "But seriously, Rin had to see those two act so much like _that_ with each other, nya."

Nozomi hummed in thought, taking in one last look at the two first years in question before looking back at Rin, "And they haven't been talking to each other much ever since they were alone?"

The cat-like girl nodded, her head drooping in despair, "That's right, nya... Aside from stutters and awkward greetings and goodbyes. The three of us aren't even walking home together anymore! It's either Maki-chan stays behind because she _'wants to work on the song more'_ or Kayo-chin goes ahead because there's a _'new idol single she wants to buy.'_ "

The air quotes were heavy and obvious in those words, and Nozomi could deduce that Rin was exhausted at how these two were acting.

"If you think that this happened because you interrupted them..." Nozomi furrowed her brows, shutting her eyes in a thoughtful look before looking determinedly at Rin. "Then you just need to do just that!"

Rin cocked her head in confusion, not getting it. "Huh? Do what, nya?"

"Get them alone together."

"What?! B-but they'll just act weird around each other or one will try to run away!"

"Then lock them in," Nozomi said easily with an assured smile. Rin felt anything but assured at this moment.

"Rin doesn't think this is a good idea, nya..." It was a less of a bad idea and more of a last resort, the ginger thought. However, her ears picked up on a sudden pair of surprised yells followed by a scolding tone.

Already dreading the days ahead, Rin sighed before mustering a nod. "...Rin will give it a shot, nya."

Nozomi hummed a noise of approval before giving Rin an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Give it your best, Rin-chan. I can't wait to see them all over each other and smiling~" the third year said with a giggle, already looking forward to the bountiful teasing ahead of her.

Rin looked to her, this time showing a grin of her own. "What, like with you and Eli-chan, nya?"

It was a brief moment, but she saw how Nozomi staggered, a faint red dusting her cheeks as her eyes darted away for a second, then gave an easy laugh, her expression evening out.

"My my, I don't know what you mean, Rin-chan."

Before Rin could answer, Nozomi had already moved away, making her way to the main practice group and throwing her arms around Eli's shoulders from behind.

"Don't be so harsh on them, Eli-chi! They're going through a spiritual awakening right now," she spoke against the blonde's ear, who turned back and frowned at the purple-haired girl.

"N-Nozomi! You should be hard at practicing too!"

Rin looked on and sighed. _Same as always, nya._ Her gaze wandered over to her best friend, taking notice of how her feet shuffled and her gaze down at the floor. Hanayo had her hands daintily touch her cheeks that suddenly flushed a deep red. Beside her was Maki, who looked into space, a finger twirling a large strand of her hair, stopping for a moment to look at the hairs of lively red. Then blushing before frantically trying to distract herself in vain.

Another sigh escaped Rin's lips. “I have to do something, nya.” She said, more for herself than her two first years. There was only so much secondhand embarrassment she could take.


	5. Rin Seeks Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin continues to come up with ideas on what to do, but luckily someone is there to help!

The next day, Rin's mind busied itself with hatching plans on how to discreetly get both Hanayo and Maki in the same room for more than five minutes. That night after telling Nozomi more or less what had been going on, the ginger spent her evening pacing around the room, throwing ideas at her bedroom wall for any ingenious idea to inconspicuously get them together.

Unfortunately, nothing stuck, and she ended up sleeping a tad later than her usual hours, ending up nearly late to school as she had to rush her morning rituals, get dressed and drop by Hanayo's house before going together.

When the bell signaling lunch period tolled, Rin was nothing short of a disheveled mess on her desk. Wild strands of ginger hair stuck out at random parts of her short hair, her ribbon hung loosely around her neck with her blazer unbuttoned, topped off with the tired yawn she failed to hide as she heard two desks clink together against her own.

"Rin-chan?" Hanayo called out worriedly as she took her usual spot, Maki doing the same, she too looking over Rin with concerned eyes, "You look exhausted, a-are you feeling all right?"

"You seem pretty distracted since this morning, Rin," Maki chimed in, breaking her look away to retrieve her lunch from her bag.

Rin blinked at the redhead's words. _Who's she calling distracted, nya?!_ She opened her mouth to point out how if anybody was distracted it was the two of them but saying that would create that awkward tension that existed whenever her fellow first years would meet eye contact.

Rin didn't need that now, she wanted them to act with a sense of normality with each other. And if it took piling up their concern onto the ginger, then she'd put up with it for now.

Releasing a breath, Rin shook her head before showing a grin to the two, "Rin just slept later than usual, that's all, nya!"

Hanayo continued to look unconvinced, Maki silently shared her sentiments with the similar looks they both wore, "W-what did you do to stay up so late?"

Rin fidgeted, her gaze darting around the classroom as she quickly stitched together a suitable lie. "R-Rin was uh... Going over her steps, nya! Gotta' be ready for our next live soon, you know?" She ended with a lopsided grin, scratching the back of her head as two pairs of eyes stared on with intensity.

However, both quickly then turned away, their expressions one of embarrassment and guilt. Maki played with her hair as if to distract herself with it whilst Hanayo simply glared at the floor, her cheeks flaring a bright red.

"Y-yeah, we should give our b-best..." The brunette muttered with nervous stutters; her hands clutched together.

Maki brokenly nodded, refusing to meet Rin's eyes, "Can't afford delays, y-you're right."

Rin deflated, flattened on her desk in both relief and agony on how easy it seemed to read both their expression. _Rin can't take much more of this, nya..._

Lunch had turned into a quiet affair the past few days save for the short passing conversation either would attempt to throw out.

"Maki-chan!" Rin said in between bites of her bread, voice muffled, "Are you excited for our next live?" Her question was a test to see how her redhead classmate would react to suddenly being called out. As she expected, Maki nearly jumped in her seat, accidentally bumping her knee against the metal frame of the desk. The other two winced at the sight.

"Ah! Sorry, Maki-chan! I didn't mean to scare you like that," Rin apologized, humming out a nervous laugh as she looked down at the redhead who was trying to soothe her aching knee. She snapped up to the ginger, presenting a deep scowl, tears prickling the edges of her eyes.

"Scared? What's with that, I was j-just, uh, thinking!" Maki sputtered out while caring to her injury. Her annoyance was short-lived however, when she felt somebody at her side, murky purple eyes of concern a stark contrast to the frown framed by vivid red hair.

"A-are you okay, Maki-chan?" Hanayo brought her hands up but stopped just hovering over the redhead. They met eyes, and once again Rin saw that certain stare they both shared. The same one she walked in on when the two were alone in the clubroom, when their bodies were impossibly close.

Nearly as close as they were now, and neither of them seemed to notice for a few moments, until one looked away.

"I-It's nothing! I'm fine!" Maki moved away, shooting up from her chair at one moment and already out the door at the next, her movements a red blur.

The ginger looked on, dumbfounded at how fast everything happened. The sudden closeness, the unspoken intimacy they shared for a breath of a second, and how Maki's face became a color indistinguishable to her hair.

Her gaze turned to the figure crouched next to the chair where Maki just was, finding a frozen Hanayo who's expression wasn't much better.

"Kayo-chin?"

Suddenly, Hanayo yelled, covering her face in shame with her hands as she leaked out a shrill squeal of embarrassment. Rin couldn't make out proper words, aside from what she assumed to be her usual cry for saving in between her noises of distress.

_So much for planning, nya,_ the ginger thought with a quiet sigh, walking over to her best friend's side and gave her reassuring pats on the back.

* * *

After comforting her, Rin and Hanayo returned to finishing their lunch, but neither seemed to had an appetite after what happened. Even the brunette mumbled something about finishing her lunch later as she closed the lid. Rin didn't have much of a choice seeing as she skipped breakfast morning, devouring her bread despite it leaving no taste in her mouth.

Maki never came back until the bell rung and their next period in the afternoon began, shuffling inside with her head down and silently returning to her seat. She took a route to her desk that didn't pass both Rin and Hanayo, earning her a curious look from their other classmates.

Until classes ended for the day, Rin failed to pay attention for the rest of it, her gaze straying to Maki and Hanayo, and the not-so-secretive glances they stole at each other.

The ginger deflated on her desk, uncaring to whether the teacher would scold her or not. Rin knew she needed advice but didn't want anyone else to know. She trusted Nozomi to not tell anybody else, and Eli was both busy with leading the rest of the group along with Umi for their next live.

"I got it, nya!" She suddenly voiced, a lightbulb metaphorically flicking on in her head. Her sudden outburst earned her a quick scolding from the teacher and confused looks from her classmates. Rin's embarrassment was for only a moment, with renewed fire inside her as she came to a conclusion.

_I'll ask her during practice later,nya!_ Rin's eyes looked up the clock above the blackboard, and time slowed to a painful crawl as she anxiously waited for classes to end.

* * *

"A question? Sure, Rin-chan!" Honoka beamed, a spring in her step as she followed Rin to the shade on the rooftop. Practice had been going as per usual, and right now the members of μ's were taking a short break. Though some were going over some steps in their dance or reviewing the song.

Those certain some included Maki and Hanayo, who were, under Umi's watchful eyes, were once again repeating their choreography.

Once the two gingers were away from earshot with the rest, Rin spun around to face Honoka. Yes, this was her ingenious plan. To ask Kousaka Honoka, her senior and school idol group leader, advice on how to handle two socially awkward close friends. It was a long shot and Rin needed to be discreet with her words as to not reveal herself.

"Hey, Honoka-chan. So, you see... I uh, have this friend! Well, _two friends_ actually." Her words were carefully picked, thus slowing down her normal pitch and her voice a snail's pace as it left her mouth. "And they're kinda acting a bit weird. Then, there's this _third friend_ you see, who has to deal with it."

Rin felt a painful pang in her heart at the utterance of 'third friend.'

The second year gave a curious look. "Weird? Weird how?" Her look was innocent, but Rin couldn't help but feel nervous. Was she giving too many details away already? Swallowing a lump in her throat, she chose her words carefully.

"Rin doesn't know all the details, nya... But! From what this third friend uh, told me, they can't look each other in the eye without it being awkward!" Her words held pent up frustration, and Rin snuffed out that fervor before she'd get carried away.

"-Or, something like that, nya."

Honoka was listening intently, a hand to her chin as she put on an inquisitive air around her. Rin watched her expression after she spoke and noticed how her eyes suddenly focused. All of a sudden, their gazes met, crystal blue hiding nothing against golden green.

"Hang on," Honoka stepped closer, her look nothing short of a glare as she loomed over the helpless first year, "Could you be talking about..."

Rin suddenly felt sweaty. A chill went up her spine as the older ginger continued to stare. She was sure she was vague enough with her words, but even then, somehow, she found out.

Honoka's lip quivered, the words halting as she pondered a silent possibility, deciding internally with a shake of her head before continuing. "Could it be... You're talking about-"

Rin shut her eyes, dreading in her failure as a best friend as she waited for their names to be spoken.

That was, until the names she feared never came.

"About Kotori-chan and Umi-chan, right?!" Honoka huffed for her own confirmation, crossing her arms over her chest as her eyes closed in thought.

"They've been getting worse every day! Did you know, Rin-chan? I think Umi-chan doesn't walk home with Kotori-chan and I because she's too embarrassed to be next to her."

Honoka was completely oblivious to the look of utter disbelief and shock on Rin's face, continuing to drone on about an issue completely unbeknownst to the ginger.

After a frustrated look, Honoka hummed out, tilting her head to the side before reopening her eyes. "Didn't expect either of them to talk to you though, or anyone else in μ's."

"I, uh, ah-" Rin failed to form coherent language from this gizzard turn of events. But besides that, her mind was trying to process this new revelation about their group. "U-Umi-chan and Kotori-chan are... Are like _that_?!"

"Huh? That's what you're talking about, right Rin-chan?" Honoka quirked an eyebrow at her, uncrossing her arms as she turned to face the younger girl.

"R-right! That's right!" Of course, it was anything but. However, Rin wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste. She could get advice _and_ hide the fact it was about her fellow first years. "What do you think they should do, Honoka-chan?"

The second year rested her back against the wall, stealing a glance across the roof to where a particular pair seemingly conversing normally. She sighed before she spoke. "I just want them to talk about it with each other," Honoka's voice was loaded with exhaustion, and was a tone Rin could recognize easily.

"Do you know, Rin-chan? Kotori-chan's been trying really hard to get through to Umi-chan," She paused, tapping a heel against the wall before looking off to the afternoon sky. "It doesn't help that she's more dense than a brick wall, though."

"And has Honoka-chan been trying to help them?" Rin probed with a vague question, trying to pry any sort of advice from the older ginger. A tired sigh was her initial response, one that Rin didn't find hopeful.

"Loads of times! When I'm alone with Umi-chan, I steer our conversation to be about Kotori-chan, but whenever I do, she turns it into a talk about the rest of μ's!" Honoka kept her volume down just for them both but didn't bother to hide the tone of frustration that bled into her usual chipper voice. "Oh, and one time Kotori-chan wrote a letter and slipped it in Umi-chan's bag, but she thought they were suggestions for lyrics! _Lyrics,_ Rin-chan!"

Rin didn't know when Honoka was in front of her, hands gripped on each of her shoulders and shaking her madly. "I love Umi-chan, but sometimes I just want to- Argh!"

"H-Honoka-chan, please stop! R-Rin's getting dizzy, nya!" As if she just realized, Honoka quickly released her grip on the ginger, who held her head to ease the dizziness. "Ah! Sorry, Rin-chan!"

"Don't worry, nya," Rin spoke slowly, righting herself before looking back at Honoka, her face a complicated mess of emotions of guilt, frustration and restlessness. "More importantly, Honoka-chan. You haven't told anyone else but Rin about this, have you?"

The second year shook her head, taking a step back over to the wall. "Yep! Because nobody else knows. Well, except for Rin-chan now!" A smile made its way to Honoka's face, and Rin was glad to see her finally smile after her loaded rant.

But, her goal to find advice was getting nowhere, and soon break would be over. Breathing in, the first year met the older's eyes. "Do you think Umi-chan feels the same way about Kotori-chan?"

Honoka made a difficult face, looking off to one side where her gaze landed on a flowing beauty of azure blue. "That's what Kotori-chan's worried about too. If Umi-chan feels the same way." Rin felt unease creep up at this response, but Honoka continued. "But! I think Kotori-chan should still go for it, you know?"

She didn't know why it looked so foreign to see a hopeful smile on Honoka's face. Was it because of the heavy conversation? "I know Kotori-chan can't make up her mind sometimes, so she needs that push from somebody to help her!"

Rin mulled the words spoken in her mind. This situation felt familiar. _Ah, Rin remembers!_ A ghost of a smile played on the cat-like girl's features at the memory. Hanayo's shyness often led to her being indecisive, and she had been there to nudge her best friend along before the brunette would make a decision.

Like that afternoon on the rooftop, but she wasn't alone then. Maki was there to help give Hanayo that push to be a school idol.

Just then, a light bulb when off in Rin's head, and she showed a wide grin to Honoka. "Ah, Rin knows what to do!"

"Huh? What to do about what- Ah! Rin-chan?!" The younger girl gave Honoka an energetic hug, pushing them to the wall. Honoka was at a loss but couldn't help but smile along with Rin who was practically bouncing. "Thank you, so much, Honoka-chan!"

Honoka returned the hug with just as much energy, her earlier unease gone. Replaced with a bright smile. "You're welcome, Rin-chan!"

All night Rin thought about how she could help Maki and Hanayo, but she realized that she can't.

_No, Rin won't be able to help, nya._ Thinking back to the time before she had joined with Hanayo and Maki to become school idols, a push was what was needed to help each other along. Even Rin needed it when she herself faced a personal problem during one of their lives.

But this time, she shouldn't be the one to give that push to Hanayo. Rin nodded to herself, smiling. _It's gotta' be Maki-chan, nya!_

The decision was set, and Rin felt ready.

Until, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

"Wah! R-Rin-chan?!" Honoka caught the younger ginger who suddenly threw her whole weight at her. Her arms were more than enough to carry Rin's slender frame, but the second year couldn't do much about the difficult look of despair on her face.

_What is the deal with those two, nya?! Do they like each other or what?_ It was difficult to decide. That one time she walked in on them both, they were holding each other close. That had to be enough to think this way, right? Or was trying to relate Maki and Hanayo's situation to the unrequited love of Umi and Kotori warping her thoughts to think this way?

"B-but Rin saw them! And they looked like they were about to- t-to!" Rin realized how those two looked on that day. Specifically, how they looked at each other. Their faces close, any closer and they would-

"Aah! Someone! Rin-chan needs help!" Honoka yelled at the rest of the girls on the rooftop, shifting her body to carry a lifeless Rin, whose face was flushed a deep red for reasons the second year didn't know.

"Honoka! What happened?" Umi was first to the scene, looking over to the two gingers with a look of confusion.

"I don't know! Rin-chan was hugging me then all of a sudden she's like this, and her face is all red too!"

"My my, Honoka-chan~" Nozomi hummed playfully, "You shouldn't play with a maiden's heart like that."

"What does that mean?!"

The rest of their conversation faded as Rin's thoughts failed to function.

_Tomorrow._ She'd ask Hanayo tomorrow. And find out once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> giran
> 
> hey its me again
> 
> i wanted to touch up on the other members and not just the first years to see how id do
> 
> how did i do? was it too ooc? lemme know pls


	6. Hanayo Finds Her Push

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With their next live happening soon, Hanayo finally understand what's gotten her so distracted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am in despair
> 
> i keep writing these at 2am
> 
> it was hard trying to piece this together, so it took a while but it's a bit longer than the others
> 
> lemme know what u think or if u find anything that seems off, thank u and enjoy

With their next live show fast approaching, Hanayo expected to see Kotori stressing out about keeping their costumes absolutely perfect when she walked into the clubroom.

Part of it was true when she entered, but she could've guessed anything else than what the brunette was seeing in front of her.

"Nico-chan! It's so frustrating!" Kotori whined as delicate hands fisted clothing fabric draped across the width of the long table. Nico was at her side, tracing circles across her back with a less-than-happy, almost annoyed expression.

"Yeah, yeah. Just let it all out, Kotori."

The group had decided to split into three groups for today to individually work on their show. Maki, Eli, and Umi were tasked in working on refining the song while Honoka, Rin, and Nozomi were reviewing their dance routines.

This left Nico, Hanayo, and Kotori to lay the finishing touches on their live costumes, with these three being the most skilled in handicrafts and sewing.

However, they were doing anything _but_ working on their costumes right now. Not with how distressed Kotori seemed to be. "K-Kotori-chan?! What's wrong?" Hanayo wandered over to a free chair across the table from the two, taking a seat with her eyes wandering to the assortment of fabric and clothes strewn on the table.

Kotori sucked in a shaky breath; radiant gold glistened with tears as it met with murky purple. Then suddenly, she burst into a fit of despair. "Hanayo-chan! K-Kotori can't take much more!"

Hanayo reeled back, wearing a face of complete shock. Sure, the stress would get to anyone, but Kotori had always been passionate about fashion and dress work. The ash-brunette was their costume designer, and a good one too. But, to see her hit her limit to the point of tears-

Her own tears prickled at the edges of her eyes, mind whirling with the cascade of horror with their group losing their muse of costume design. However, a petite hand halted her thoughts, its owner huffing an exasperated sigh as she moved away from the second year.

"It's not like that, Hanayo. She's worried about something else," Nico stated in a flat tone, yelping in annoyance when Kotori suddenly gripped at her blazer. "Gah! Get off me, woman!"

Hanayo's worries were quickly washed over with confusion, tilting a head at the duo. Tried as she might, the raven failed to pry her hands away, and sighed in defeat as she got shaken frantically. "S-so uh, what's she worried about, then?"

Kotori whirred her head to the brunette just before Nico spoke, her voice waking the fine edge of frustration and tears. "Umi-chan!"

Hanayo turned around to see no one, then looked around the room to confirm the three were the only ones there. After, she faced back to Kotori, confusion bleeding into her voice. "U-Umi-chan? Did she do something?"

"It's more that she _didn't do_ anything," Nico chided, finally succeeding in freeing herself from Kotori's clutches.

"Eh?" Hanayo wasn't following, her expression as well as her voice made that fact clear. Seeing this, the ash-brunette slumped over the table, hands running through the roll of fabric. "I've been trying to get Umi-chan's attention, but it hasn't been working!" And she was back to abject despair. The look Hanayo gave still conveyed her lack of understanding, and Nico groaned.

"In case you haven't noticed, she's head over heels for our Umi," The raven spoke nonchalantly, gesturing a hand to the mumbling mess of a second year on the table.

Hanayo was silent for a moment as she processed her words. She gave a high-pitched squeak when it finally clicked. "W-what?! K-Kotori-chan?!"

The girl in question could only give a weak nod in confirmation. She was now tracing invisible patterns on the shiny cloth. "Is that so shocking? Girls fall in love too, you know?" Nico said as she gave a knowing look to Hanayo, her tone indicating that the petite senior knew _something._

Kotori picked up on the sudden mood shift, peeking up from the table to look up at Hanayo. "Huh? Does Hanayo-chan have someone she likes, too?"

It was Hanayo's turn to break out into a fit of distressed sputters, breaking her look away from the other two as red dusted her cheeks. "I- uh... That's not important r-right now!" _We were supposed to finalize the costumes, right?! Right!_ "T-the next live is coming up s-soon, and we should really be, uh... Finishing our c-costumes..."

For what she felt like was the millionth time, Nico heaved a tired sigh, but nodded in agreement to the brunette's words. "She's right," standing up, she walked over to the sewing machine on the table, shooting Kotori a look as she sat back down. "You can cry about Umi after we're done, you can hold in your maiden woes until then, right?"

Nico's voice was less of a mockery and more an exasperated suggestion. Kotori carried herself back to a sitting position, wiping away tears at the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief. She nodded, hands then reaching to a pair of fabric scissors and cloth, failing to hide her earlier look of distress.

Hanayo breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them finally returning to the task at hand. She gave Nico a silent look of thanks before taking hold of one of the unfinished idol costumes. The raven huffed out a breath, a teasing grin forming across her pale features as a thought surfaced. The first year didn't see this however as she was already starting on the final touches.

It was only after a minute of silence when Kotori looked over to the focused Hanayo, deciding to speak after running the scissors through the length of the fabric. "So, Hanayo-chan?"

She hummed out in response, tilting her head up slightly to meet her gaze. Curious eyes met, but Hanayo felt unease from the smirk on the ash-brunette's face.

"Is this someone you like someone Kotori knows?"

Her hands slammed the costume in a reflex, then frantically moved to hide her entirety. Under the concealment that hid her from the world, she let out low noises of her own distress. She was embarrassed, but for the past week she didn't know why.

Of course, she knew _why_. But she wasn't sure of the feelings brewing inside her since that day. Suddenly, she felt hot beneath the idol costume, but wouldn't dare to leave the dark safety to meet the bright grin Hanayo knew was on Kotori's face.

She heard the second year chirp when she didn't respond, the brunette could only guess the look she had on her face.

"Ah! I'm right!" All traces of her sadness in her voice seemed to vanish, "Who is it?"

Kotori's chipper tone contrasted her earlier wails, and Hanayo's cries for saving grew in volume beneath the clothing. She knew this was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

Luckily Nico was there to keep the overly curious Kotori in check, and after a nerve wracking hour, the three had finally finished finalizing their costumes for their next live. Nico dragged her chair away from the table to stretch her petite frame, accompanied by a clenched sigh. Kotori was silently humming a song, placing her scissors, needles, and threads back inside a bag.

Meanwhile, Hanayo was fixing the frills on one of the costumes. A dress with a main motif of red. The color soothed the brunette, her fingers smoothing over the vivid color of the fabric. A sigh escaped her lips, her thoughts complementing her look of unease.

How long had it been since she talked normally with Maki? _Since then,_ Hanayo remembered. Aside from the short exchanges and occasional words during school and practice, the two never had a proper talk.

_Maki-chan doesn't even walk home with Rin and I anymore._ Her hand stopped, feeling the costume between careful fingertips, the feverish red leading her mind astray.

Every time she attempted to talk with Maki, her mind would send her back to that moment alone in the clubroom. How hot her face felt but paled in comparison from the heat of Maki's grip. How long, slender fingers were a hair's touch away from her cheeks, but most of all, how pretty her lips looked in the afternoon glow, vivid violet taking her breath away in that moment.

Embarrassment would reduce her to a stuttering mess, and before she knew it her legs had carried her away from Maki, her cheeks flushed.

_My cheeks..._ And that was another thing. _Why_ her cheeks? Ever since that day Hanayo would spend an extra few moments in the mirror to inspect herself, at a loss as to why out of everything about her, the redhead found an interest in her cheeks.

It wasn't that she wasn't ashamed of how she looked, but compared to Maki, she always felt inferior. At the very least, she could've taken an interest in other areas like her chest-

Hanayo felt her face heat up, stopping her thoughts before they could escape to places she'd rather not be, if she didn't want to explain to the other two in the room why she was as red as a tomato.

"So, will you tell me now, Hanayo-chan?" Kotori suddenly perked up, sliding her bag away on the table to get a clearer look at the brunette across her. She couldn't see much given that Hanayo was once again hiding behind the particular red dress, high-pitched stutters erupting from the costume.

"What? You mean you already don't know?" Nico said, putting away the sewing machine back onto the back shelves in the clubroom. The ash-brunette alternated her eyes between the other two, "Nico-chan knows?"

The third year posed triumphantly, hands raised above her head to deliver her signature pose, "Why, of course! Nothing less from the great Nico-nii! She sees all and knows all!" Kotori looked in awe, and Hanayo brought the costume down on the table to exchange looks with Nico, herself bewildered.

"B-but how?! Nobody else but Rin-chan saw Maki-chan and I in the room-" The dress draped over her lap, her grip suddenly releasing to slap her hands over her mouth. Hanayo saw the look in Nico's eyes, and her gaze trained down to the grin splitting her face. One that said ‘ _got you’_ without needing those words spoken.

Before Hanayo could contemplate running out the door, Kotori leaned on the table, focusing on Hanayo with an intrigued smile. "Eh? So, it's Maki-chan?" Her tone was one of disbelief, releasing a hum in thought trying to think back of any hints of such a fact. She's shrugged and looked back at Hanayo instead. "So, you like her, Hanayo-chan?"

"N-no!" Was the first word that the brunette could muster, and she couldn't understand the upset feeling in her stomach when she realized how defensive she sounded. "T-that's not i-it..."

"Huh? So, you don't like her?"

"T-that's not it, either! It's j-just..." She tripped over her words and couldn't say anything. Hanayo was confused with it all. And the stress of the coming live along with the random schoolwork left her with little time to sort out her feelings. She had no one to talk to, and she noticed that even Rin seemed to be distracted with her own thoughts as of late.

"I... I just-"

"Argh!" A noise of anger snapped Hanayo away from the helpless mumbling, her eyes meeting a violent red at the centerpiece of an annoyed expression. "That's enough! It's almost been a week and you still can't look Maki in the eye. _Something_ is going on." Nico's tone of voice left no room for question or argument, and the brunette hung her head low, hiding within herself as hands gripped the nearest thing: the red dress on her lap.

"Did you two have a fight?" Kotori eased out a question, her tone a contrast to the third year's. Hanayo shook her head nervously, fidgeting beneath their piercing glares. "W-we didn't. B-but..."

But what? She can't look at Maki anymore? Seeing how she looked, how she moved was what took Hanayo away from the droning monotony of classes, and each time left her with a bubbling happiness that she couldn't comprehend.

Now, she couldn't even chance a glance at her without feeling embarrassed and guilty. _Guilty of what?_ Even Hanayo didn't know, and to hear that the rest of μ's was affected by this unrelated issue made her feel more guilt.

Stewing in her own thoughts, the sudden finger jutted at her face startled her out of them, trailing the arm up to find Nico standing beside her.

"Hanayo!"

"Y-yes?!" She squeaked, her back beginning to sweat at the intense look in her senior's eyes.

"What do you see in Maki? Go!" Nico spoke quickly, giving Hanayo little time to mull her words over. She wasn't used to being the center of attention, so the situation was nerve-wracking to say the least.

"W-what do I think about Maki-chan? In what way do you-"

"Don't think, just say!" Nico snapped angrily, and Hanayo slapped a hand over her mouth to still her voice. Every passing second deepened the scowl on the raven's face. Fearing for wasting precious seconds, Hanayo lifted her hand to force out the words in her mind.

"I-I think she's great!" Her words were simple, but the look in Nico's eyes let Hanayo know that wasn't what she wanted to hear. The annoyed grunt from the raven urged her on, hands absently toying with the fabric of the dress as she spoke, "S-she's really pretty, her voice is beautiful, she dances very well and is top in our class!" Each compliment she voiced aloud invoked that similar bubbling happiness, and eventually, her initial nervousness seemed all but forgotten as she continued.

"I uh... Really like her hair. She twirls it a lot, and I've always been curious to how it feels, you know? I'm guessing it would be soft and lovely to touch, but I'd be too embarrassed to ask her anything about it."

Kotori looked on in complete awe at how easy Hanayo spoke, as if she wasn't a stuttering mess just mere moments ago. Nico shared in her sentiments, but listened on with a neutral expression, giving the brunette a look to continue on whenever she'd stop.

What was most shocking of all though for them both was the smile on her face as Hanayo spoke about Maki.

"A-ah! But that's! I m-mean, it's not all appearance. She's really kind, if not a bit dishonest with her feelings," Hanayo added with a light laugh, smiling at a memory the other two didn't know. "She cheers me up if I'm feeling down, even if she never admits that she does it."

Kotori and Nico listened intently as Hanayo continued to lay her entire thoughts and feelings out about Maki. Kotori was grinning at the sheer cuteness of the first year's words, and Nico forced back her smirk, excited to plan out how to use this newfound ammunition against the redhead.

Still, she couldn't believe that the blundering mess that hid behind a dress just mere minutes ago was the same girl bubbling with happiness as she spoke, as if in her own little world as her mind continued to spew about a certain redhead.

"Oh, and there was this one time where-" Hanayo began yet another tale, but a sharp cough from the third year brought the brunette from her trance, her face breaking out into a bright red when she realized she had been rambling. "I-I...!"

Nico held up her hand, stopping her. "You talk about Maki like you talk about idols, Hanayo."

"And rice too!" Kotori chimed in, completely ignoring the glare from the raven for cutting her off abruptly, "I mean, you didn't say you wanted to eat her, but there's the same feeling of warmth and happiness!" The ash-brunette remarked with a dainty clap of her hands, giving her Junior a bright smile. But the way she phrased the first part of her sentence made Hanayo even more nervous.

Before her mind could wander deeper down the gutter, Nico cleared her throat, getting the two's attention.

"Before I was _interrupted,_ " She emphasized with a quick glare at Kotori before focusing on the first year, "This is pretty simple: You love her, and you're just too embarrassed to admit it."

The words that sounded the most obvious and most understandable to the rest of the world felt foreign and out of reach for Hanayo. _L-love?!_ Just thinking of the word reduced her thoughts to a mess. She just admired Maki; she was sure of it. How beautifully she sang and how graceful she moved were all inspirational to the brunette. _That isn't love, right?_

But her thoughts brought her back to the moment alone in the clubroom. How every moment left her confused and dazed with embarrassment at the forefront. As if her mind just understood new vocabulary, each second was understood.

The dryness of her throat before her questions were fear, the volume in her voice was hope. The touch of bare skin and Maki's grip was electrifying. How their eyes couldn't look away no longer left her with confusion, but with painful clarity. And, the strange force that gravitated her attention to the gap of breath between her lips was no longer unknown to her, that magnetic pull finally had a word.

"Love..."

And the way the word danced in her tongue was terrifying.

"Get it now?" The words that weren't her own brought her back to the clubroom, with two pairs of eyes watching as if they read every thought and memory. Hanayo felt the dryness of her lips, and the fabric clutched between her fingers.

"Ah! Don't crease the fabric, Hanayo-chan!" Kotori had stood up, reaching over the table to settle the crushing grip of her hands on the red dress. As much as the second year wanted her to relish in the moment, they really needed their costumes to be perfect for the next live.

"S-sorry!" Under the ash-brunette's warm touch, her grip loosened for her to haul the costume back to the safety across the table. The sudden absence on her lap felt cold, and her hands felt vacant.

"Hanayo," Nico called out, drumming her fingers on the table as she stared. Violent red eyes narrowing to a stare. "You're going to tell her, right?"

"E-eh?!" Hanayo gulped. Knowing it herself was already too much for her, let alone _telling_ Maki. Her blush returned in full force, and without the security of the dress, hands shot up to conceal her redness. "I-I could n-never! It's too e-embarrassing, and I wouldn't be able to say it right!"

Her mouth continued to bleed out excuses, each one draining the fever she just had. All of a sudden, her hands dropped, the rambling falling to a stop, her eyes casting down.

"A-and I don't know if Maki-chan likes me t-that way..." Her last breath sounded less of a rushed excuse and more of a defeated fact, the thought of Maki refusing her causing her insides to churn painfully.

Hands gripped Hanayo's shoulders, pulling her out of her seat and was suddenly pushing her out the door. Her heels dragged against the floor in protest, her hear whirling around to find a small figure with a surprising amount of body strength. "You won't know until you find out, now get out there!"

"W-wait, Nico-chan?!" Hanayo resisted to little effect, her eyes then turning to plead at Kotori, who jutted two thumbs up of encouragement that did the opposite effect. "Go get her, Hanayo-chan!"

"W-wait, please!" The brunette flailed her arms, but the vice-like grip of such petite hands stayed on her shoulders. "I'm not ready to-!"

"And you never will." The way how serious Nico's words were gave her pause, facing her body enough to meet the third year's eyes. An emotion she couldn't understand. "You're always like this, Hanayo. Doubting yourself and always needing a push," to emphasize, her gaze traveled up and down the brunette, and how she was practically being hauled out the clubroom.

"T-that's..." The bluntness of the raven's words extinguished whatever argument she had. Not from the harshness, but from how true they were.

"So, you'll never know until you try. And if Maki doesn't see how much of a catch you are, then she's an idiot." It was always a wonder how Nico could say such crass language without a moment's hesitation, but it was a trait she admired of her senior, and one she wished she could replicate. But she was too shy and full of self-doubt, her confidence nigh nonexistent in comparison to her.

_But..._ The encouraging smile on Kotori's face, and the push (both physical and mental) from Nico gave her enough courage to stop resisting the force dragging her to the door.

A ghost of a smile finally made its way to Hanayo's face, and Nico returned it with a whole smirk. It was going to be a bad idea, but their efforts made her decided she should try.

The raven finally stopped, Hanayo's body right outside the room's doorframe. Her fists rested on her hips, staring up at the brunette confidently. "And don't come back until you've got the princess wrapped around your finger. I'm starting to feel bad for Rin trying to deal with you two."

"H-huh? Rin-chan?" Hanayo looked on, confused. A second later she was looking at a closed door, the slam echoing down the hallway.

"N-Nico-chan?!" She tried the door, frowning when it was locked. She palmed at the door. A shadow lingered behind, but there was silence. She tried for a while longer before giving up, sighing in defeat.

Hanayo faced away from the door down the hall, in the direction to the music room. Taking a deep breath and slapping her cheeks, she brought herself to attention.

R-right! Her feet began with small but determined steps. _I just go and t-talk to her. Easy. Simple. Not a problem._ Each time she tried to convince herself seemed to only drain her confidence, yet she kept walking.

_Easy-peasy... Aaah, somebody save me!_

* * *

As the footsteps outside the clubroom grew more faint, Nico nodded to herself and spun on her heels back at the room, finding Kotori with a splitting grin.

"...What?"

The ash-brunette shook her head, but the grin persisted. "Oh, nothing."

"That dumb smile doesn't feel like nothing." Nico remarked, returning to her seat nearest to the window. Kotori hummed; her eyes trained on the raven.

"I was just thinking how Nico-chan is such a nice senior, helping her troubled junior out like that." She teased, her words a light giggle from her dream-like smile.

"O-of course Nico-nii is a nice senior! She is both an idol in school and on the stage!"

"But to even help out with things like love-"

"Shut up!" Nico snapped, huffing exasperatedly as she took her seat. "It's just annoying to see them acting so painfully awkward every day."

"Uh huh," Kotori chirped, looking away from her with a giggle. "Whatever you say, Nico-chan~"

_"Kotori."_ She muttered her name through gritted teeth, muffled by the giggle that continued to bubble from the ash-brunette. Nico's scowl lessened to a tired frown a moment later, her back leaned against the chair rest.

"Speaking of painful, you got over your problem about Umi pretty quickly."

Kotori looked at her, her fit of giggles lessening to an eventual halt. Then they turned into audible cries, her hands wrestling at the red dress she rescued a few minutes ago.

"Why won't Nico-chan help Kotori with her love problems?!" She despaired, uncaring to her harsh grip on the fabric.

"Because I can't you with something denser than a- Hey, easy on the costume, Kotori!" Nico spent that next moment trying to pry Kotori's fingers from the costume, ignoring the hopeless moans of the second year in favor of saving the ninth costume.


	7. Maki Finds No Explanation

Meanwhile, the Soldier Game trio were dutifully refining their latest song for the live, discussing thoroughly on each part of the song be it the music itself or the lyrics. Maki remarked this process as needlessly tedious at times, but her two seniors declared it a necessary and important process in making their songs. So, they would do it for every song trust they had ever released.

Usually, they would have the rest of μ's present for this time, but the fast approaching date had left them with too many unfinished refinements, thus the idea of splitting into three groups to delegate the tasks evenly.

"Was it a good idea to leave Honoka, Rin, and Nozomi all by themselves?" Maki asked, her hands gliding across the piano keys, but without enough force to produce a sound. Eli and Umi turned to her, eyes away from the lyric book they had in front.

"Well..." Umi's voice was devoid of confidence, and she frowned at the thought of the three arguably most unruly members of the group. When she didn't answer, Eli interjected instead.

"You should have more faith in them, Maki," the blonde's voice was the same cool and collected confidence that served her well as the student council president. Well, _former_ president. Honoka had taken up that mantle since the term began, but the redhead couldn't find it within herself to see the energetic ginger with the same position of confidence of authority as Eli did.

"Besides, Nozomi is there to keep them in check." If by check, she meant _sexually harass_ then there might be some merit to her words. Nobody dared to fall out of line when their chest was threatened by Nozomi's hands.

Maki shivered, remembering her own experience with the third year. "I guess you're right."

Eli nodded with a smile, and returned her attention to the book with Umi, "As I was saying, I think we should make this part rhyme-"

Their conversation went on, and Maki hadn't realized she stopped listening at some point, her eyes fixed to the window. The gentle trees swaying in the breeze, the afternoon sun that bathed everything in a warm, orange glow, and the dim corners of the room that grew larger in volume, highlighting the room's center in radiant light.

It was almost a replica to that moment in the clubroom with Hanayo.

Maki's cheeks flared red at the memory, her hands flinching away from the keys to twirl a strand of her red hair, but not without accidentally pressing on the piano's ivory keys, earning her confused looks from Eli and Umi.

"Maki?" The second year's voice was masked with confusion, her gaze of gold alternating between the vacant keys and a blushing Maki. "Is something the matter?"

"I-it's nothing!" Maki's voice was shaky, making her heat up more under Umi's scrutiny. She heard a sigh leave a breath, but it came from neither of them. Vivid violet looked, suddenly captured by a stare of icy blue.

"W-what?" The redhead's voice held more force than she intended, but she didn't turn away. On the other side, Eli's face was gentle, almost inviting, but no words left her lips.

Maki opened her mouth to urge something out from the blonde, but her voice died at the tip of her tongue. Her eyes made her feel vulnerable, and if for just a moment, allowed her to be honest.

Before she could think, Maki found herself asking. "H-hey... What do you two t-think about, you know... L-love?"

Maki's voice was a hushed whisper, as if any louder and the whole school would hear her. Umi looked dumbfounded at the sudden question, and the flushed look on the redhead's face provided her no explanation.

But Eli simply smiled, closing the notebook before handing it to Umi, who made a silent protest to no response. The blonde wandered over to a vacant seat in front of the piano, settling down next to Maki. "Why do you ask?"

The first year expected a teasing remark or a prodding statement from either of them, but nothing came. Though Umi was silent, Eli merely minded the questions Maki wanted to ask, and didn't pry further. Maki was embarrassed, but the air around them didn't pressure her to let everything out, but to go at her own pace.

It was a breath of fresh air, and it allowed her to sort her thoughts aloud.

"I uh... Had a thought. A realization, I guess. Or something!" Maki was many things, some she had begrudgingly admitted. She was easily embarrassed, competitive, and stubborn. But she wasn't as dense to ignore things if they took precedence in her mind.

She's had nights to think it through, as the days would leave her distracted and preoccupied with situations out of her control. But, the endless trains of thoughts and sleepless nights had led her to admit one thing:

She had feelings for Hanayo.

"Well, what do you feel when you're with this person?" Eli's question brought her back to reality. The blonde leaned forward to see the redhead's face, who quickly turned away with a huff. "W-who said it was me?!" She defended weakly, signing out a moment later at the futility of those words. Her eyes wandered back to the third year, who maintained a look of calm, yet with eyes full of interest.

"I... I feel happy," Maki started, hands fidgeting on her skirt as she spoke with a tone hinted with nervousness, "I look forward to talking with them, and when they're in the same room I get nervous. And uh, s-something like that." She congratulated herself for keeping her words even before the embarrassment would catch up to her. She smiled, reminiscing her moments with Hanayo, be it in class, during practice or when they walked home from school.

Maki then sighed, her thoughts steering her to the incidents of the past few days. "But right now, I uh, ...We're not talking right now..." The fact stung Maki, the absence of their time together leaving her with a painful void that distracted her, finding solace in the stolen stares when the brunette wouldn't be looking, or otherwise notice.

Eli hummed, processing the redhead's words. The silence gave Maki time to further sort her mind, often stopping dead at the same point.

She had feelings for Hanayo, but Maki didn't know what to name them. She first thought admiration, then weird interest as her stares began to focus on- Maki bit down internal embarrassment to continue -her cheeks. Yet, on that afternoon alone in the clubroom, she grew painfully aware of _everything_ about Hanayo. The way her eyes glistened in the evening glow, the warm touch of her hand up her arm, brown hair that stopped short at her neck.

Her eyes had then taken in every feature of the brunette, like a wonder waiting to be discovered. What Maki ended up thinking most of was the unspoken intimacy of the moment, how each breath burned in her memory, and how quickly it vanished when Rin entered the room.

Now, she could barely speak to Hanayo, too embarrassed to utter a single word before having to look away. Maki felt guilty that she didn't have the courage to walk home with her and Rin anymore, but she couldn't trust herself to break into a sprint or say something she'd regret if she did.

"Why can't you just talk it out with them, in that case?" The suggestion came from Umi, who sat on a chair pulled away from the arrangement and set next to the piano bench.

"I d-don't know how..." Maki admitted, fisting the cloth of her dress as she gazed down, "And I'm scared that I might make it worse." She felt pathetic saying those words, but that's all she was the past few days. She would hate herself for admitting all this later, but right now she allowed herself to be vulnerable.

"Maki..." The redhead didn't know who it was, but their voice was laced with pity. She didn't know why, but it irritated her.

"I don't know, okay?!" Maki snapped, "I just want things to be back to normal!" As quickly as it came, her flame was snuffed out, leaving her miserably guilty, her eyes stared to the floor. "Even if it's just to talk with her again, then I..."

_"Her?"_ Umi repeated in disbelief, and Maki scowled at the fact she let herself slip. With her gaze away from them, she didn't see the brief but silent exchange between Umi and Eli, with the blonde ending it was a sharp raise of her palm.

"Maki," Eli's soothing voice drew the sulking first year out of her staring contest with the floor, "So, you asked about love because you don't know what else to call it?"

Her words were so brief, but it summarized the whirlwind of emotions Maki had been feeling. In her shock, no words formed in response, her mouth agape at the blonde.

Eli laughed. It was soft, barely above a giggle in fact, but it dispelled the air of tension Maki had put up, and for that she was silently thankful.

"I just... I don't know if I could call it love. Can you even call this love?" Eli tried to suppress her laughter at how Maki's sounded less of herself and more of a maiden in love. Well, that wouldn't be far off from the truth.

"What do you think love is, Maki?" The blonde countered, gesturing long, beautiful fingers at the redhead. Though there wasn't a significant difference in their height, Maki felt small in front of her senior.

"W-well," she found herself stuttering. _What even counts as love?_ Her experience totaled to an amount of zero if Maki didn't count the times Kotori dragged her to watch her dramas and movies about love. However, those had helped set an expectation of the emotion, expectations that failed to manifest in her instance. "Isn't falling in love supposed to be something dramatic? L-like fog clearing up or feeling like you're floating?"

Eli smiled, bubbling out a giggle as she settled a hand on vibrant red hair. "Maki, that type of love only exists in love stories."

Maki poured at the hand on her hand, voicing out a vain protest when the blonde began to ruffle her neatly brushed locks. When Eli stilled her hand, she continued, "When you fall in love with someone, it's spontaneous, and you don't realize it until it's over, and you go, 'oh, I'm in love.'"

Maki looked up at the hand on her head, trailing up the arm, and finally to the smile on Eli's face. "It can happen whenever, Maki. In class, while you two are hanging out," her hand brushed a stream of red over vivid violet, breaking their gaze and eliciting an annoyed huff, "Or when she’s there when no one else is."

Maki noticed the hitch in Eli's tone, but the time she fixed her hair, she had returned to that even smile delicately placed on her features. "There's no special reason, and it just is, Maki. That's love."

Maki kept silent, understanding Eli's words that held painful clarity. In the moment of privacy, there had been no explanation, no reason. All of a sudden, she was just aware of Hanayo. She had tried to understand why, but if Eli's words were true, then there wasn't an explanation for it at all.

It wasn't rooted to her interest to one part of Hanayo, it had grown to so much more, and there was no understanding it, just the realization that she had fallen in love.

"Ah..." Maki voiced her realization subconsciously, her eyes readjusting to see Eli's warm smile. Then, the embarrassment caught up, and her cheeks burned a deep red.

"I'm glad you understand now, Maki." Eli said with a laugh, rising from the piano bench and heading back to Umi. "Now, if only _more_ of us could be more in touch with their feelings."

Maki noticed the moment's frown on the blonde's face as she stared at Umi. Confused, she opened her mouth to speak, all words drowned out by the sudden slam of the door.

"Maki-chan!" At the sound of her name, she snapped to attention, seeing a disgruntled ginger stomping towards her.

"E-eh? R-Rin?!" Maki yelped when her shoulders were suddenly grabbed by Rin, who began to shake her to and fro, golden green narrowing down in scrutiny.

"What do you feel about Kayo-chin! Tell Rin now, nya!" The redhead tried to pry herself free, but her grip was like a vice, and her head was beginning to spin from being shook around.

"R-Rin, stop!"

"No! Not until you tell Rin, nya!" She demanded, continuing to interrogate her fellow first year who had turned red due to her thoughts.

Following Rin were two footsteps, one in a hurried rush while the other was tamer and more relaxed.

"Umi-chan, cover your ears!" Honoka ran into the room in a yell, breaking all school rules to rush over to her fellow second year.

"H-Honoka?! You three are supposed to be reviewing the dance- Put your hands off my ears this instant!" Umi resisted to Honoka's arm strength but couldn't pull her hands away from the hands disabling her hearing.

"Huh? Rin-chan? Why are you shaking Maki-chan over there?" As if she just realized, Honoka quirked an eyebrow at the younger ginger, completely ignoring the azurette's protests.

"Um, what's going on?" Eli asked in the middle of the commotion, her confused look shared across everyone else in the room, until another walked in.

"A _big_ misunderstanding, Eli-chi," Nozomi entered with an easygoing smile, met with a frown from the blonde.

"Nozomi! You were supposed to keep these two together," Eli's reprimand was met with a finger to her lips and a wink from the purple-haired girl, a twinkle in her emerald eyes.

"Now now, Eli-chi. The cards have told me something big is going to happen." To prove her point, Nozomi produced a card from her pocket, presenting it with a flourish to the blonde.

_The Lovers._

Rin had stopped her furious shaking, and despite the dizziness in her vision, Maki caught the look of the card in Nozomi's hand.

Then, the door creaked open, nervous feet tapping against the floor.

"U-um..." Hanayo stood at the doorway, hands wrapped around its frame. Murky purple stared determinedly at their desire, and her words shortly followed.

"M-Maki-chan? Can I... Talk with you for a minute?"

"E-eh?!" Maki knew she had to face her sooner rather than later, but she hadn't prepared herself to face her this soon.

_To hell with it,_ breaking away from Rin's hold, Maki stood from the bench and marched over to Hanayo, who looked up nervously at the redhead, stuttering beneath her breath. She took her wrist and dragged her out of the room into the darkening hallway.

"A-ah! Maki-chan?!" Hanayo sputtered but followed behind the redhead. She couldn't see her face, which was a good fact for Maki, as there was no way to quell the deepening redness of her face.

"Y-you wanted to talk, right?" She reaffirmed without looking back. Hanayo made no protest, instead voicing an audible noise of assurance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey
> 
> let me know what you think
> 
> im terrified i dont know how this will end
> 
> but i hope you enjoyed


	8. Maki and Hanayo

Their walk down the hall was silent. The clack of their shoes reverberating down the hall filled the void of words between them. Their walk was also aimless, as Maki didn't think of a certain destination, and opted to just get herself and Hanayo away from the rest of the group.

 _The music room's a bust, and Nico and Kotori are in the clubroom._ To reinforce her point, muffled yells of despair echoed from the direction of said room. Her feet halted, hearing the brunette behind her stumble into an abrupt stop. Maki looked behind her, then to the hand gripping her wrist.

"A-ah! S-sorry, Hanayo," The redhead apologized, releasing her grip and retracting her hand back, ignoring the sudden absence of warmth.

"I-it's okay, Maki-chan." Hanayo's voice was nervous, barely above a whisper. Hands fidgeted above her chest; eyes glanced away as she fell silent.

The familiar air of tension Maki was beginning to feel familiar with was surrounding their air once again. A hand nervously went up to twirl her hair, annoyed at how her mind simply ceased to function at times like these. _A place no one is around. We could go to one of the classrooms, but I don't know which ones are locked since classes are over._

Maki's thoughts spiraled into a rabbit hole of dead ends. Busy swimming in her thoughts, she didn't notice the fervent twitching of Hanayo's hands. Suddenly she reached out, stopping at the slack hand at the redhead's side. The brunette's cheeks burned and moved up to grip at the sleeve.

"M-Maki-chan," Hanayo tugged her out of the fleeting thoughts, taking quick notice to the hand on her sleeve. Her eyes trailed up the arm, meeting a nervous, but determined look she rarely found on Hanayo's face. "The roof. I'm s-sure no one's at the roof right now..."

Her words gave Maki pause for two reasons: One, to reflect how obvious of a choice the rooftop was. The only ones as far as Maki knew to frequently use it was μ's and the astronomy club, and even then the latter would only utilize the area at night. She looked to the window, orange light bathing the trees in the darkening afternoon.

And there was another reason. The effort Hanayo was making to get them alone. Giving a suggestion, snapping her out of her thoughts. She was even the one who called out to her first. Maki had always known the brunette to be meek but showed courage in occasions when no one else would. Of course, it would usually be for her interest in idols, but Maki could understand. Hanayo loved idols, and to make efforts for something you love is a no-brainer.

_So, why was she making such an effort right now?_

Before her mind could think further, Hanayo walked past her and started once more down the hall, with Maki in tow. "L-let's go, before it g-gets dark." She broke the silence with a nervous sputter, grip tightening on Maki's sleeve. Noticing how her frets were dragging on the tiles, she picked up her pace to keep up. Then she moved in front of Hanayo, presenting a silent urge to keep up as they reached the stairs.

No words were exchanged, but there didn't need to be. The tug of her sleeve would slow Maki's steps before she would ignore it a few moments later with a sudden spring of her feet. The sudden disruption of rhythmic footsteps would become apparent through the echoes, turning back to find Hanayo fixing herself and shooting the redhead a pout. With reactions like these, Maki couldn't help herself on the way to the rooftop.

Another sound reverberated down the hallway. Sudden yelps of surprise and suppressed laughter joined the clack of footsteps.

* * *

The door creaked open, with Maki leading them both to the roof and Hanayo shutting the door behind them. Their walk had been silent, but it was a silent enjoyment. Though, it had felt like less of a walk and more of Maki trying to trip Hanayo over by suddenly walking faster, all the while ignoring her silent protests to slow down.

She knew it wasn't that, though, and the laughs were much needed to dissipate the awkward tension in the air. Even if Hanayo was pouting for most of the way there.

Maki quickly looked out at the rooftop to confirm no one else was there. Stepping farther out but never out of reach from Hanayo's grip on her sleeve.

The brunette gulped, pushing down uncertainty. She came here to do one thing, but now that she was here, the pressure was nerve-wracking. Talking about her was one thing, but with Maki here in front of her, all loose words she tried to string together on the way to the music room had seemed to blow away in the evening breeze. Her mind left with an internal screaming of saving.

"Hanayo?" Her name brought her back to the rooftop. Maki had turned around, now eyeing the brunette with a raised brow. Her knuckles paled from the tight grip on the redhead's sleeve.

The expectations of rejection she fought hard to keep down threatened to crawl back to the forefront of her mind, each moment sapping away what little confidence she had. They both seemed like such opposites, her and Maki. While her fellow first year exhibited grace and assured demeanor, Hanayo was shy, indecisive and cowardly. Maki didn't deserve that. Maki deserves someone who's just as confident in themselves, free of doubt or second thought. Her brief imagination of herself next to her in that way felt foreign, out of place.

A strong gust of wind blew across the rooftop, disheveling strands of lively red hair. It distracted Maki; her attention pulled to smoothing down the wild locks with a disgruntled look. The scene in front of her gave Hanayo pause, her dangerous thoughts dissipating as one feeling surfaced, one that gave life to the feet that brought her to the music room a few minutes ago.

Under the orange sky, Maki was fighting against the wind. A scowl of annoyance deepening as her hair remained disobedient to her hands' attempts in keeping them in place. Hanayo pushed down the laughter bubbling inside her, that one feeling manifesting through a smile on her lips.

That electrifying feeling Hanayo felt in their moment alone in the clubroom, she wanted to feel again. And again, and again if Maki would let her. Regardless if she deserved to be at her side, the thought of anyone else at Maki's side churned at her stomach. These thoughts made her feel helpless and pathetic, she realized. Before she joined μ's, that's all she thought of herself. Always needing Rin at her side dragging her along as self-doubt had gnawed any desire to put herself out there.

Back then she didn't mind, as there wasn't any need to. But now everything had changed. With a push, she became a school idol, and the depreciating thoughts soon replaced with a need to change herself; to be better. For Maki and Rin who encouraged her, she wanted to change.

Nico was right, she was never going to be ready. Even if time froze itself to give herself a pep talk, no amount of time would be enough.

Her hand released Maki's sleeve, the redhead brushing away loose lines of red out of her eyes before focusing on the brunette in front of her. She had balled her hands into fists, clutching at the air in silence, eyes gazed down to the floor.

"H-Hanayo?" The lack of response urged a nervous tone from Maki, but Hanayo could barely hear her words from the loud beating in her chest. Was her heart always this loud? How was she going to tell her? _What should I tell her?_ Her mouth moved, but there was nothing. Each syllable felt wrong on her lips, and the silence between them ensued.

 _What started all this?_ It was her odd interest in Maki's hair. The way lively red coiled around her finger entranced her when she first took notice. It had consumed her waking thoughts in class. But was that still the case?

 _Somebody-!_ Hanayo cleared her head. _No,_ nobody was coming to save her this time. Her words had failed her, her thoughts following suit in failing to string a coherent sentence. There was one thing left, and before the last ounce of courage left her body, she would leave this rooftop with her feelings out in the wind for Maki to understand, and hopefully receive.

Sucking in a breath, her hands slackened, then her gaze snapped up at Maki. Murky purple met vivid violet, and she took a step further. Without a word, Hanayo reached her hands upward, diving into a sea of red hair that sent her mind, body, and soul into a series of events that led them both to this rooftop. Without a sound, her eyes never left Maki's gaze.

She couldn't hear her heart anymore, and the brunette could've assumed she died then and there, but she felt air enter her lungs, and felt the warmth and softness on her fingers. Nodding to herself, Hanayo let her hands comb through red hair, taking in every realization of how _soft and fluffy_ it was.

Her mind's curiosity was finally at ease. There she was, running her hands through her desire. But her chest didn't stop thumping, especially at how she noticed that the gap between them had vanished. Her hands found each other at the back of Maki's head, threading her fingers together.

Her mind's wishes were sated, but her heart drummed for more. Knowing this, she felt relieved.

Hanayo released her bated breath, her lips quirking to a smile that complemented her reddened cheeks. "I'm glad," Her words were simple, and her tone hushed, but the way the redhead flinched conveyed to the brunette that they were enough.

"I love Maki-chan, after all."

* * *

The moment had stunned Maki, but internally she couldn't fight down the heartbeat in her ears, and the internal screaming on her mind. She was painfully aware of everything. The hands at the back of her head, keeping her in place. The warmth of Hanayo's body as she pressed closed against her. Fingers idly coiling her hair around itself, and how her eyes couldn't tear away from the gaze of murky purple.

But most of all was the words that left Hanayo's lips. Words that replayed in her head and contested against embarrassed internal yelling. Maki felt her throat go dry when trying to form a reply, each passing moment making her feel more like a helpless blunder, with a face she knew was flushed red.

She expected the lack of exchange to invoke the same awkward air, but it never came. Her eyes took note of Hanayo's features. The look of relief on her face, accentuated by her gentle smile left Maki dumbfounded. And finally, her tongue felt a question. Forcing it out before embarrassment would choke her.

"W-what do you mean by, 'after all,' H-Hanayo?" Maki wanted to hit herself for stuttering, and the poor choice of words. Hanayo stared blankly, then pouted her lips at the stunned redhead. Maki felt her back sweat at her narrowed gaze, but soon the brunette found herself breaking into a soft bout of laughter, leaving a frown on her face as she grew more confused.

"I-I'm sorry, Maki-chan. It's just that..." Hanayo fidgeted but kept herself rooted in place. Her feet shuffled and her hands twitched restlessly, but she stayed. It was a moment before she found her words again, her eyes breaking away to the red strands concealing both hands. "I thought about it. Ah, I m-mean, what I liked about Maki-chan... I t-thought I was just interested in what your hair felt like..."

Redness deepened on Hanayo's cheeks, and her words paved for realization to that time in the clubroom. _She was interested in touching my hair?_ Maki didn't know what felt more embarrassing, the fact of knowing this or the fact that Hanayo had harbored similar feelings with Maki, but instead of hair, she had her attention to another part of the brunette.

"A-ah, I mean! I still like your hair, Maki-chan! I like it a lot, actually. But..." Hanayo's words trailed off, and the redhead felt the hands behind her shifting, settling down at the base of her neck. There was a specific term for that part of the body, but Maki couldn't remember it now if her life depended on it. "I-I like how it feels, and I thought that if I was satisfied now, then t-that would be it."

There was a short pause, and the brunette swallowed the anxiety in her throat. "But I don't."

Maki found Hanayo's eyes once more, murky wells of nervousness, hope, and relief reflected back. She closed the, and the redhead's attention was fully on the wide smile across her face.

"So, that means I love more things about Maki-chan." Her voice was a freeing breath, as if saying those words lifted a weight off Hanayo's chest. Then finally, the embarrassment showed on her cheeks, from how she practically glowed red. "A-and, I hope… Uh, I-I..."

Maki suddenly found herself laughing, eliciting more bouts of stutters from the girl in front of her, who could only pout in response. She was amazed at how similar they were in this situation, though she felt a sense of defeat from Hanayo beating her to the punch with confessing her feelings. _Confessing._ Hanayo admitted her love. There was no way in misunderstanding, she even said it twice! Now Hanayo's eyes held anticipation, awaiting a response from the redhead. How should she respond?

Maki thought her mind would send itself into disarray of deciding how to respond to her, but she was calm, she even laughed. Since her conversation with Eli, Maki had already made her decision.

But she wandered back to Hanayo's actions. How she decided to test her love to be completely sure piqued her interest, a violet gaze wandering below to the warm and fluffy red between the brunette's anxious lips.

Mimicking her actions, Maki silently brought her hands up. Her arms brushed against Hanayo's before delicate fingers cupped her cheeks. The brunette squeaked at the touch but remained still. Slender fingertips moved across bare skin. _Warm. Soft. Fluffy._ Impossibly so, Maki thought, her hands applying slight force. She marveled at how her fingers seemed to sink into Hanayo's cheeks.

"U-uh... Maki-chan?" _They're much firmer than I thought, but like a pillow._ Maki was in a trance, her fingers delicately kneading the sides of the brunette's face, her eyes focused, completely ignoring the call of her name. Hanayo tried again, her words muffled when she felt her cheeks pressed together. Her hands felt hot to the touch, but that might've been how hot her face was getting.

"M-Maki-cha _n._ " Hanayo dragged the letter to get her attention. When she finally did, Maki noticed the narrowed glare on the brunette, and the frown poorly framed on her face due to her hands practically kneading her cheeks like dough.

"A-ah," Maki laughed breathily. Nervously, but her hands stayed on the brunette's skin. She began to fidget under the look on Hanayo's face, one that approached mild annoyance at being ignored by her. "They were uh... S-softer than I thought and I got carried away," she swallowed, suddenly feeling guilty. "S-sorry."

Hanayo released a breath, tickling Maki's hands. Her eyes returned to that same look of nervous anticipation; one Maki couldn't look away from. "S-so, Maki-chan... About what I said earlier... W-what do you- I mean, D-do you L-l... Uh..."

Each pause and stutter derailed Hanayo's speech into a mess of embarrassed noises, and Maki deduced that she's expended the last of her courage. There wasn't any need to finish however, as the redhead understood her wordless sputters. _This is a good thing, I guess,_ Maki thought, as she imagined there was going to be more instances of the brunette being reduced to helpless babble.

"Hanayo." Hearing her name halted the stream of incoherent syllables, the anticipation that clouded her was lifted at the sight of a knowing smile on Maki's face. Hanayo didn't need words, and Maki saw that much was enough to get her feelings across.

The hands that had remained dormant behind her neck tugged to life, pulling the redhead closer. Maki felt her lean into the hand on her cheek, murky purple upturned with an expectant look.

It was subtle body language Maki understood, and she felt herself comply. Hands guided her downward, their lips parted. The gap continued to shrink, until a contented hum in the middle.

The contact was like a jolt of electricity through her body, and her mind went blank, but at the moment their lips touched, Maki harbored similar thoughts:

Hanayo's lips were soft, and the kiss was warm and fluffy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they did it wooo
> 
> this was a lot of fun to write, and i hope i wasnt the only one who enjoyed it
> 
> its a rarepair but a rarepair i like a whole lot
> 
> lemme know what u think
> 
> there will be one more chapter after this to wrap things up and set up the next mess, so watch out for that 
> 
> stay warm and fluffy this quarantine season, lads and ladies


	9. The First Years are Partially Distracted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smiles, warm and fluffy. Come read the end of our disastrous first years.

Rin slid the door of the staff room closed, turning on her heels and skipping away with a lively spring at every step.

The past week had been nothing but smiles for the energetic ginger. Their live show was a success, with a certain two members possessing a livelier stage presence than usual during their performance. Rin never expected to see a day where somebody other than Honoka shining with such bright smiles until that day.

Of course, that hadn't been the only reason why a grin was plastered on Rin's face the whole week. That evening after the show, Maki, Hanayo and her walked home together for the first time after what felt like forever. In the near empty streets, they shared their worries, joys, and highlights on days leading up to the live and on the big day itself.

However, Rin found herself smiling most at the sight of the experimental link between the two other first years, and the declaration muttered under embarrassed faces. She had her assumptions, but given Nozomi's not-so-subtle hints during that particular day of their final reviews, seeing the smiles they both tried and failed to suppress, and the mere fact they were talking to each other made the news less dramatic, but didn't water down the ginger's happiness.

'Rin's happy for you two, nya!' She had practically tackled them both into a group hug that bordered suffocation. Despite Maki's verbal protest to release them both, the smile tugging at her frown had said it all. Hanayo was quick to return the hug, rubbing cheeks against her as a giggle bubbled from her lips. 'Thank you, Rin-chan!'

Rin maintained the hug for a few moments longer, reveling in their shared warmth before finally releasing her hold. Maki's face was flushed with embarrassment, but her smile betrayed her narrowed glare. Blowing a raspberry in response, she turned to her best friend, flashing a grin before crushing the brunette in another tight hug.

'Rin's so proud of you, Kayo-chin!' Her words more like an older sister than a friend, the emotion teasing tears from Hanayo's eyes, but she couldn't be happier.

'I'm sorry I worried you the past few weeks, Rin-chan.' Hanayo's breath hitched, but her grin couldn't get any wider, returning the hug modestly, as the ginger was applying enough pressure for both of them.

Rin shook her head, letting out laughter. 'It's all good now, Kayo-chin. Don't worry about it, nya!' She didn't mention the awkward atmosphere the two seemed to conjure up at lunchtime, the loss of sleep she experienced from trying to intervene, or the amount of times their actions wanted her to slam her forehead against her desk. She could forgive Hanayo. She was her best and closest friend, after all.

_'But...'_ Then she turned to look at Maki, her hands traveling down the brunette's body to hold her by her middle, giving her a light squeeze.

'Rin's going to miss your warmth, Kayo-chin, now that Maki-chan has you all to herself, nya...' Her voice in mock sadness, she pulled off the deepest frown she could, her laughter already fighting to break it in an instant.

'H-hey, Rin! You make it sound like I'm going to take her away from everybody.' Maki voiced with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest with a scowl, eyes narrowing at the teasing ginger.

'Who knows, nya?' Rin's voice was nearly at a tone similar to Nozomi's. That teasing, carefree, but knowing voice that rubbed at Maki the wrong way. 'Maki-chan has already taken Kayo-chin's heart, but Rin doesn't expect her to stop there! For all Rin knows, Maki-chan might've already stolen her first kiss, nya!'

Rin had meant it as a joke, but the silence that washed over them both, then the sudden blush of red told her the actual truth wasn't far from her words. She didn't know either to laugh at accidentally hitting the mark, or to run from the death glare she was receiving from the redhead a few steps away from her.

'A-aha, Rin was just kidding, M-Maki-chan,' Rin gulped beneath the murderous gaze of vivid violet. The next moment, she was away from Hanayo, taking off down the street. Maki yelled at her, giving chase.

'R-Rin! I swear, when I get my hands on you, I'll-!'

'Run away, nya!' They chased each other in a circle. Rin was not just cat-like in mannerism, but in movement with her escaping Maki's clutches as the redhead was unfortunately just a moment behind.

Hanayo looked onto the hilarity of the scene and held nothing back in her laughter. Above all, the brunette was glad things were back this way. Conversations returned, smiles were affixed and the three of them were finally walking home together. However, most of all...

Her eyes wandered to Maki, the red of her hair nearly indistinguishable with the red on her face. She thought back to the moment on the rooftop. How warm her fingers trailed across her bare skin, and the physical and metaphorical gaps they closed at the contact of their lips.

Hanayo's face suddenly felt hot, but her mind breathed in relief. She was glad Maki loved her too.

The brunette brought a finger to her bottom lip and smiled, taking small but assured steps over to the sole commotion on the street.

It was now Monday, a full weekend had passed since their live, and the post-stress burnout was strong amongst the members of μ's. It had been the usual to hold no club activity one or two days after a live performance, to serve as a short break to prevent further burnout or to bask in the afterglow of success. So, Rin wasn't surprised when she opened the door to the clubroom and saw the inside nearly abandoned.

Well, except for a certain two members. One struggling to focus on study material on the table while the other toyed with interest at lively red hair.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, nya! Rin had to bring some stuff to the teacher!" Rin announced her presence with an energetic loudness, closing the door behind her and moving to a chair across from the two other first years.

Maki met her eyes with a relieved look Rin didn't understand initially, until realizing the redhead was failing multiple attempts in keeping herself distracted. "Ah, R-Rin. No one's here today, as to be expected."

The ginger took a sidelong glance, finding Hanayo with a look deep in thought. She was familiar with a finger coiling strands of Maki's hair around itself, but seeing it be Hanayo's finger was a foreign sight, almost humorous.

No, it was very humorous for her. And she didn't bother to hide that fact.

The redhead burned a deep red but did nothing. Rin could understand. There was nothing stopping Hanayo once she was doing something she utterly loved. Be it watching her favorite idols, eating freshly cooked rice, or in this case, combing through Maki's hair.

_"Kayo-chin,"_ Rin called out in a singsong, flashing a smile at the brunette when she snapped to attention. "Having fun, nya?"

"A-ah, R-Rin-chan!" Hanayo was flushed a rich red, hands retracting away from Maki upon the realization she had spaced out to the point of not noticing the ginger enter the room. "I w-wasn't- I m-mean, I was just uh..." Hands jittered against one another on the desk, the brunette reduced to nothing but a fit of incoherent, embarrassed stutters.

Rin's sudden bout of giggles stilled her voice, and both eyes were on her. She took a breath to calm herself before speaking. "Don't worry, nya! _So,_ how does it feel?" Flashing a knowing grin to her, Hanayo made visual reactions to her mind desperately stringing together a coherent sentence, accompanied by shy filler noises.

_Adorable._ Both Rin and Maki silently remarked, watching the brunette change from embarrassed, to thoughtful, and to passionate all in a span of a few seconds.

"I-It's much softer than I thought! Not like a feather, b-but... It feels more like a pillow." Once Hanayo got going, the stutters lessened, and her voice grew from the nervous whisper to an enthused interest. Rin listened happily to her best friend's detailed insights on the redhead's hair, gleefully agreeing and laughing at parts that tickled her.

Maki didn't share the joyful atmosphere however, herself stewing in utter embarrassment at the conversation. Never in her life had her hair been described as a warm softness comparable to outlandish comparisons like hot rice or a cat's underbelly.

Their spirited conversation hadn't last long as Maki and Hanayo were only staying in the clubroom to wait for Rin to finish the sudden request the teachers had given her. Their talk changed topics as they walked out the room, which Maki was thankful for so she could finally join in without the threat of radiating warmth off her face.

They hadn't noticed they were already out of the school grounds, their feet painless even from the staircase that the ginger would complain about at times for being too tall. Their conversation was fleeting, the atmosphere seemingly mundane. But the three first years wouldn't trade this time for anything else.

"Ah, shoot! Rin forgot that mom asked to buy groceries for dinner!" Rin stopped in her tracks, wearing a face of sudden realization. The other two met her gaze with puzzled expressions, more so when she suddenly spun on her heels and ran in the direction towards the more commercialized area of the city. She shot her hand up, waving widely but her feet never stopping. "Maki-chan! Kayo-chin! See you tomorrow, nya!"

With that, she took off fully. Even though she wasn't looking, Hanayo waved back at the ginger. Maki watched her figure turn a corner and out of sight, releasing a breath when the streets were suddenly quiet. She looked down to Hanayo, who had a bright smile on her face.

"Let's go, Hanayo." Maki said with a smile, one the brunette easily returned with a much wider smile of her own. She nodded, and the two started back down the street to their homes. Without Rin, the only sounds between them were their footsteps and the distant city traffic. There were no words, but the silence was peaceful, almost calm.

Hanayo suddenly felt warmth brush against her backhand, bringing her attention down her arm. Her feet unknowingly slowing to a stop. Maki took notice of this, and stepped to a sudden halt, looking back over to the brunette. Her face was red, a hand that Hanayo guessed that accidentally 'bumped' against hers was clenching and relaxing at erratic intervals. "W-what is it?"

She didn't understand why Maki was acting shy at first, but then it clicked. Realizing the sudden touch, the way she moved and the red dusting the redhead's cheeks, Hanayo couldn't help but break into a smile. The brunette met her eyes, the sudden intimacy warming her own face. "Maki-chan, d-did you want to hold hands?" Even though she was sure, she was still embarrassed.

Hanayo didn't intend to ask in order to tease, Maki, but in an attempt to coax out her true feelings. Though the time hadn't been long, she had gotten to know more about Maki's personality in greater detail. The redhead was honest, but the forefront of pride kept her true emotions behind a tough shell. μ's had broken her out of that tough exterior, but Maki still maintained that wall to keep her calm and collected personality.

Not that Maki wasn't any of those things, or they were a façade, but in their short time Hanayo was knowing more about Maki, and every small discovery filled her with an excitement to know more. A tried and true method that brought out more of her honesty was to simply ask directly. Of course, asking directly could've solved three or so weeks’ worth of troubles for people involved, but that wasn't important.

"W-what are you saying?!" Maki stammered, out, her blush deepening. She frowned, her reflexive words of denial dying in her throat at the knowing smile on Hanayo's lips. The redhead settled on a defeated pout, breaking her gaze to the asphalt. "I uh... Y-yeah, I do..."

Hanayo suppressed a giggle, and she took a step to close the gap. Gentle hands reached out to take Maki's. The brunette chortled at how the redhead jumped at the touch but didn't move away.

"H-how's that, Maki-chan?" She asked with a shy smile, murky purple meeting vivid violet, its usual clear color muddled by the evening glow.

"W-whatever..." Maki huffed out and tugged their joined hands to resume walking. Hanayo accepted this as a minor victory in getting her to be more honest, and the heat between their skin left butterflies in her stomach. The walk was once again silent, but neither threatened to break the tranquil peace in the air. The breeze blowing through then was cold, but they never felt warmer.

It would be a while, possibly in a far future, but Hanayo looked forward to the day where Maki would be more honest. She cherished how cute Maki acted now, but she thought how wonderful it would be if she took the lead more often. It was only so much before the embarrassment Hanayo forced down during these moments in order to speak threatened to crawl back up and leave her redder than Maki's hair.

As if the girl at her side read her mind, Maki pulled her closer, the sudden bump at their shoulders signifying the gap between them had vanished. The silence persisted for a moment longer while they walked, then Hanayo felt the redhead's grip shifting.

"I..." Maki's words were a whisper, but the closeness of their bodies made Hanayo aware of her voice. She looked up to find Maki already looking down, their eyes meeting. Silent determination reflected at murky purple. The redhead bit her lower lip, then pushed her words out.

"N-next time," Maki started, the fine line on her lips softening to a shy smile, "I... w-won't ask again the next time."

Hanayo blinked at the declaration, but soon found herself smiling back. She pressed closer to Maki's side, relishing in the warmth and the fluffy feeling in her heart of slender fingers intertwining with her own. Hanayo giggled, murmuring into Maki's sleeve.

"I can't wait ‘till then, Maki-chan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aw man, writing this was so fun, and tying up the ending destroyed me more than i thought it would
> 
> there wasnt enough makipana fics in this world to destroy me emotionally, so i made my own. and i really like this pairing, so i hope you enjoyed this too.
> 
> thanks to the people who left comments and kudos, yall really helped push me to finishing this, and i hope the end was worth it for yall
> 
> i'll be back soon to take a stab at the birb and oom. it'll be set after the events of this fic, but i'll do my best so people can read it standalone (but pls read this too i really appreciate it)
> 
> man, i really like makipana
> 
> as always, stay warm and fluffy friends


End file.
